Gut Instincts
by xMissWhitneyBexx
Summary: Rusty, content with life, ambitions to become a journalist is confused about life and his feelings and who other to help him than his good friend, Kris? But with Phillip Stroh seemingly watching his every move, how can he live his life without always looking over his shoulder? First chapter is the beginning. Don't worry, nobody dies. *Krusty* *Sharon/Rusty-mother/son relationship*.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Major Crimes story. I have been meaning to make this story. It's about Rusty and if Philip Stroh came after him. It has Rusty exploring his sexuality at first with Kris (remember her? I always liked her and wanted her to be good friends with Rusty since he was gay) so here it is.**

* * *

"So... You basically asked me out just to tell me that you're gay?" Kris asked, raising an eyebrow at Rusty as they stopped in front of a tree at the local park.

"Well I... I know that probably sounds stupid and that this whole thing is kind of humiliating-"

"I was actually excited that this was going to be our first date. I mean, you haven't talked to me in a year and suddenly, 'Hey Kris, do you want to go out?'." she ranted.

"Okay! I'm sorry. I know this will probably sound so insensitive and rude but..." he sighed and shook his head. He was stupid to ever think that she would understand. And she was the only friend that he had his own age.

"What Rusty?" she sighed, looking down.

"I was wondering if-if you would kiss me. Just so I can be sure-"

"That you're either gay, straight or bisexual?" she asked, slightly grinning at how un-cliché the whole situation now was.

Rusty sighed in relief. "Well, yeah."

"Can I enjoy said kiss?" Kris smirked.

Rusty shrugged and smiled. "Sure, if you want."

"I get to kiss a cute guy, of course I want to enjoy it. Even if said guy is 'gay'." She grabbed his hand. "So, want to go to your place? It's nearby." she whispered, huskily.

The blonde nineteen year old looked down at their conjoined hands, feeling a bit of a twinkling sensation in his hand. "Sure."

They started to walk out the park when they got stopped by a man, budging his way past Rusty, clipping his shoulder.

"Ouch, yeah, thanks for the apology man!" Rusty yelled after the man.

"Let's just go. Did he hurt you badly?" Kris asked, switching sides so she could gently rub it.

"No, not too bad. I'm alright." He smiled at her and held out his hand for her to take.

"You're a gentleman, Mr Beck."

"You're a nice lady, I guess." he smirked, receiving a hit on his arm.

...

Rusty fumbled for his keys in his bag. "I swear I put them in here!" he mumbled, finally finding them but dropping them on the floor in the process.

"I'll get it." Kris said, bending down to pick them up. "And I'll kindly open the door since I'm a 'nice lady'." she giggled, opening the door.

"Thanks." Rusty blushed, taking the keys from her hand and placing them in the key bowl by the door.

"I've never actually really been into your home. It's pretty sweet with a dope view." Kris commented, drawing the blinds closed.

Rusty placed his bag on the sofa and chuckled "Well, that 'dope view' is gone."

"I just thought that since you were gay, you wouldn't want anyone to see you kissing a girl and thinking you were bi." she shrugged, grinning as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"I have to warn you, I'm experienced in this sort of thing." Rusty said.

Kris raised a cheeky eyebrow. "Oh, are you?" she whispered lowly, closing her eyes and placing her lips onto his.

Rusty's eyes fluttered closed as he snaked his arms around his friend's waist and pulled her closer. Their lips moved in sync as Rusty's tingling feeling came back, eating at his chest and stomach.

He gasped, breaking the kiss. "That... was intense." Kris mumbled, placing her fingers on her lips. "So are you still gay or-"

She didn't get far since Rusty latched his lips onto hers again and gently manoeuvred them into his bedroom for privacy if Sharon were to come home early. He laid her on the bed as they continued to make out, her hands gripping onto his back tightly.

They only stopped for air and as soon as they were detached, they started to laugh. "Bi?" he whispered.

"Probably. I haven't had experience with kissing gay guys. Actually, I haven't even had my first kiss until you stole it."

"Shit, I'm sorry. "Rusty cursed. "You probably didn't want to waste it on a bi or gay guy, did you?"

"It's cool. It's someone I know well-ish and he's cute." she said, kissing his nose lightly.

"You keep saying that I'm cute. Trust me, Kris, once you know what I've done in my past... you wouldn't call me 'cute'." he sighed, laying beside her.

Kris placed a leg over his waist and sat on his stomach. "I don't need to know about your past to know that it hurts you every time that you think about it, Rusty. I don't care about your pass unless you killed someone. I care about the present and the future."

"You can relax. I haven't killed anyone." he smiled, sweeping her hair behind her ear. "I just had a bad start."

"You don't have to tell me about it." she mumbled, kissing his lips once more. Her hands travelled to his button up as she started to undo the buttons. "Let's take this to another level, yeah?"

"All the way?" Rusty asked nervously. He had stolen her first kiss. Now she wanted to give him her virginity?

"All the damn way, Russell. I've waited so long for this with you."

"But I'm-"

"Don't care." she whispered, moving to his trousers and unzipping them.

"Kris! No, stop!" Rusty firmly gripped her hands and kissed them. "Please, stop."

Kris's eyes started to water. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I've had this stupid crush on you and I just wanted you to want me..." she cried.

"Hey... It's not you, it's me. It's to do with-"

"Your past? Look, from the moment Captain Raydor adopted you, it was a clean slate. To me, you're a virgin. I don't care about your past."

"But, you shouldn't waste something so valuable on me."

"I want to." she smiled softly, outlining his face with her finger. "You mean an awful lot to me, Rusty Beck and I would give you the world. Even after this and you still feel indifferent towards me, that would be my own clean slate. Gay, bi, straight, I will still want you to take this gift."

"Let's do it." he said, gently pulling her head towards his so he could place his lips on hers.

"And as they would say, 'Deflower me'." she giggled, taking off her top and resuming kissing him.

...

"That was amazing. Thanks." Kris said, blushing as she laid on his bare chest.

"No problem." Rusty smiled, stroking her hair.

There was a thud on the door and she leaned up, confused "Expecting anyone?" she asked, getting out of the bed and putting his shirt on.

"No. Stay here, I'll get it." he quickly got dressed and kissed her lips, making her bite them in happiness.

Rusty walked out, closing the door and looked through the peephole, spotting no-one. Confused, he opened the door and looked around.

Nothing.

Probably some prank.

Rusty was about to close the door when he felt himself fall back on the floor, disorientated. He groaned and tried to focus is eyes on the dark figure in front of him.

"Who-"

"Forgotten me already, Mr Beck?"

The voice sounded familiar but his head was pounding too much to actually observe and digest.

The man kicked Rusty in the stomach, making the latter grunt in pain. Rusty got up slowly and crawled over to the table beside the door and tried to reach for Sharon's spare gun which was taped underneath it. The man however thought he was reaching for the landline beside it and kicked his arm, punching Rusty square in the jaw.

Meanwhile back in his bedroom, Kris was becoming impatient. She slowly and quietly crept to the door and opened it quietly, gasping subtly as she saw the scene unravel before her eyes.

She brought her hand up to her mouth to stop her from crying out as she watched Rusty get beaten up, violently and cruelly.

Hot tears slipped down her face as she closed the door quietly and rushed to her bag, grabbing her phone and dialling 911.

 _"991, what's your emergency?"_

"Police, ambulance. Hurry!" she cried, whispering. "He's going to kill him! Request for Captain Raydor! It's her son, please hurry." she sobbed.

 _"Please stay calm, the authorities are noted and will be there shortly."_

"What about his mom?"

 _"On her way. She has been informed and she has told us the address. Stay clam, and stay put. May I have your name?"_

"K-Kris." she cried. "Oh my God, I think..." she stopped when she didn't hear the grunting or groaning from outside. She heard a knock on the door and her eyes widened as she gasped. "He's found me! Oh my God, he's knows I'm here!" she sobbed.

Her eyes widened when she heard a gun shot and she nearly threw up.

 _"Kris? Are you still there?"_

The door opened and she turned around, dropping her phone in fear and shock as the man walked closer to her.

"Another damn witness." he mumbled, shaking his head as he raised the gun.

"Please." Kris cried, shaking her head. "I'll do anything. Just don't kill me."

"Oh, I don't intend to. You're not what I came for, after all." he pulled the trigger, aiming at her shoulder, causing the eighteen year old to fall back onto the bed, screaming and clutching her shoulder.

 _"Hello? Kris, are you there?"_

"And you won't be needing this." With a final shot, the phone laid shattered on the floor. He swiftly left, heading for the supply closet down the hall of the apartment, leaving the door wide open.

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 **How was that? Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Back with another chapter. Thanks for the response! x**

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Kris struggled to get up, clutching her right shoulder with her left hand. She searched for her clothes, sobbing quietly as she looked through the open door at her friend's limp body. He seemed to be alive since there was little movement in his hand.

Gasping, she rushed to his side and cupped his cheek. "Rusty? Can you hear me? The cops are on their way, don't worry."

"You're... hurt." he gasped out, making her hold his hand tightly.

"It's okay. I'm fine. Where-where did he shoot you?"

"My... knee." He winced, tears threatening to fall as Kris looked down the clear hallway outside the condo.

"They're coming, okay? I'm just going to get dressed, okay? I'll be watching you. I don't want your mom to get surprised about what we did or anything."

"Wait." He gripped her hand. "You can't disturb the crime scene." he gritted out, clutching his stomach.

"Seriously? I'm not even wearing..." she blushed as he smiled lightly.

"Just those, okay?" he managed to sneak a smirk when she stood up, revealing a little too much. He sighed when he heard her cry in pain as he watched her pull her underwear and trousers on.

"Rusty?!" He turned to his head to the direction of the voice, his eyes slowly closing as his heart rate slowed. "Rusty? Can you hear me?" It seemed so far away, out of reach. Falling into unconsciousness, he took their hand.

Kris ran out of the room, eyes wide as police and paramedics filed in.

"Kris, is it?" A dark skinned woman asked her. She nodded, gulping as tears fell down her face. "You're hurt. Can we have a EMT here?" she called out. "Do you remember me? I'm Detective Amy Sykes. I've seen you around with Rusty."

Kris nodded and winced as the EMT tended to her shoulder. "That's a gun shot wound. The person shot you?" he asked.

She just nodded, the feeling in her arm suddenly going numb. "Kris? Are you okay?" Amy asked, placing a hand on her good shoulder. Kris shook her head, her lips wavering. "Get her to the hospital."

"No! Rusty!" Kris yelled out, pulling her arm away from the EMT's grip. She rushed to the floor and knelt beside Sharon Raydor as EMTs worked to place Rusty on a gurney.

"Kris." The older woman said softly. "Let them have a look at that. Rusty will be okay."

Kris started to sob as she nodded and let the EMT who worked on her shoulder continue as they walked out to an ambulance, Amy Sykes following.

...

Kris felt herself awake, confused to her surroundings. She tried to sit up, crying out as pain jolted through her arm. "Sweetheart? No, no, lean back down."

"Mom?" she asked.

"Yeah. Your dad is on his way. Oh my God, we thought that you were killed when Captain Raydor called us. The police would want a statement."

"How did I end up here?" The teenager asked, looking around.

"Detective Amy Sykes, the one who was with you, said that you nearly bled out in the ambulance. The bullet hit a vein. They managed to stop the blood and had to take you to surgery to take the bullet out. You nearly died due to blood loss. You had two blood transfusions, sweetheart." Her mother replied, shaking her head disbelievingly.

There was a knock on the door and Amy and Lieutenant Provenza entered. "Can we speak to Kris, now?"

"Okay." Kris nodded, looking at her mother. "Mom, can you leave? Just for now?"

"Don't you want me here?"

"It's not that... You don't know Rusty like they do." Her daughter mumbled, concealing the real reason as to why her mother shouldn't stay.

Her mother sighed and nodded, collecting her bag. "I'll get you something to eat and meet up with your father. I'll be back later."

She left the room and Kris sighed, trying to move her arm in her cast. "It's kinda itchy." she mumbled.

"I should think so." Provenza chuckled lightly. "So, can you run us through today's events?"

"Promise you won't tell my parents." she blushed.

"Did something personal happen?" Amy asked.

"I'll just start from the beginning." Kris gulped. "He asked me out and we went to the park."

"Asked you out? Are you sure you're talking about Rusty Beck here?" Provenza asked, briefly glancing at Sykes in confusion.

"Turns out he's bi. Very bi." Kris smirked, biting her lips making the adults roll their eyes. "Anyway, we were leaving and some guy pushed into him. Rusty got pretty mad but I told him to let it go. It seemed like he recognised the guy, you know?"

"Recognised him?" Sykes asked. "Can you describe him?"

"He wore sunglasses and he had a hoodie up. He wore dark clothes and I think... dress shoes?"

"Dress shoes?"

"They looked pretty fancy to me. And expensive. I would know, my dad wears those kind of shoes." Kris shrugged with her good shoulder.

Amy sighed. "Dark casual clothes but expensive shoes? Probably could get something out of that. Continue."

"We left and ended up at his condo where things went a little too far..."

"Far as in...?" Sykes asked.

"We-we had sex." Kris blurted out, closing her eyes embarrassedly.

"I thought the kid was gay. _He_ told us that he was gay." Provenza sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, that's not what we're here for. Determining Rusty's sexuality. Do continue, Kris. You're doing great."

"We heard something hit the front door and Rusty got out of bed to dress up and check it out. He closed the door behind him so I couldn't see or hear anything. He took a while so I went to see what was taking him so long. That's when... I saw the same guy from the park beat him up. I closed the door quietly and called the cops. That's when I heard the gunshot-Oh my God, is Rusty okay?" Realisation finally settled in her brain as she tried to get out of bed.

"Hey, hey." Amy called out, stopping her. "He's still in surgery but he's fine."

"I have to see him." Kris cried. "The-the guy, he found me. Then he said something like, 'another damn witness'." Kris sobbed. "I begged him not to kill me and he just said that he didn't intend to kill me that I wasn't what he was there for. He then shot me. I tried to stop the bleeding to I ripped Rusty's shirt and made a makeshift bandage whilst I went to him. I told him that I needed to get dressed but he said that I shouldn't disturb the crime scene. I told him that I had nothing on underneath and he told me to get underwear and trousers on. That's when you guys came. Can I see him now?"

"When he gets out, I'll be sure to put in a word." Provenza promised.

They were about to leave when Kris called for them to stop. "Detective Sykes, can you stay until my mom comes back?" she asked meekly.

The young woman was hurt to see the eighteen year old so weak and frightened so she responded with a, "Of course. Lieutenant, I'll see you at the crime scene."

Provenza nodded and left as Amy smiled gently at Kris, sitting in the seat beside her bed.

...

Capain Sharon Raydor stood in front of the place which she had called home.

"You okay?" Lieutenant Andy Flynn asked, stepping inside.

"Oh? Yeah. Just surprised at how much could happen within a couple of minutes." she said, sighing. "Have we got anything from Kris?"

"All the arrows are pointing to Phillip Stroh. Kris said that he said something about leaving another witness."

"When is this all going to stop? When will Rusty finally get a break?" Sharon asked, walking into his room. "Buzz, what do you have?"

Buzz looked up from his camera. "Well nothing crime worthy happened in this room apart from Kris getting shot. There's a smashed phone, the one used to dial 911. Clothes on the floor. A bra-"

"We get the picture. Especially since there's four used condoms in the bin." Flynn said, raising an eyebrow.

"Can we not talk about...?" Sharon cringed.

"Sure, sorry."

"Just the thought of my baby doing non-baby things."

"He is nineteen. He was technically an adult last year, Captain." Buzz pointed out.

"I know but, seriously? Four times?" she asked, shaking her head.

"I agree with you on that one."

Kendall came in and gestured out of the room. "Well, we can walk through what happened corresponding to Kris's story."

"Okay. Let's do that." Sharon said, clearing her throat as they followed Kendall out.

Kendall started as he pointed to different directions. "Rusty came out of his room-"

"Can we talk in victims please? Hearing his name in this situation is..." Sharon trailed off.

"Of course. Sorry. Victim number 1 came out of his room, closing the door so that victim number 2 did not see nor hear anything going on. Victim number 1 opens the door but sees nothing. About to close the door, he is hit across the head at a 45 degree angle, causing him to fall just in front of this room. See these blood smudges? Victim tries to crawl over to the table beside the door to presumably grab the landline-"

"My spare gun. It's there for emergencies. Rusty was trying to grab my gun." Sharon said, checking under the table. "It's still there though. Exactly how I left it so that means Phillip brought his own gun."

"Okay. So to grab the gun underneath the table but victim is kicked over and spits out blood. This kick causes two ribs to break. And then the victim is brutally-"

"Really Kendall?" Flynn asked, gesturing to a worried Sharon.

"The victim is attacked and beaten up. The attacker then shoots the victim in the knee and goes over to victim number 2, shooting them in the shoulder to unintentionally bleed out. Attacker leaves and that's all."

"Mom?" Sharon turned around and saw her two eldest children standing outside the condo, confusion and fear written in their feautures.

"What-what happened?" Ricky asked, bringing his mother in for a hug.

"Why are you guys here?"

"It was meant to be surprise. We were coming to stay for two weeks because it was both yours and Ricky's birthdays." Emily said, hugging her mother. "What happened?"

"Rusty... he and a friend of his were attacked." Sharon admitted. "He should be out of surgery now."

"I'll drive you there." Ricky said, genuinely concerned for his new brother.

"I'll come with. My heart's thumping so hard right now because I'm scared of how bad it would be." Emily gulped.

Andy patted Sharon on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll sort this place out. You guys can be home within a couple of hours."

"Can you sort out Rusty's room?"

"Since his attack didn't happen there. I will see what I can do."

"Thank you."

...

Kris paced in front of Rusty's room as doctors did final check ups on him. She tightened the belt of her favourite purple robe which her parents brought for her to wear. Wincing in pain, she massaged her bad shoulder, carefully to not disturb the cast.

"Kris."

She turned around and found Rusty's family entering along with Sykes.

"Hi, Captain Raydor. They won't tell me anything since I'm not his family." she said, sighing and continuing to pace.

"How is your shoulder?"

"Forget about it. Rusty's more important." Kris said, her heart thumping loudly as the thought of losing him crossed her mind. She kept her emotions at bay and smiled at Ricky and Emily, putting her hand out for them to shake. "I'm Kris. Rusty's friend."

"Friend, huh? A gorgeous girl like you and you're just friends?" Emily teased.

Kris blushed and bit her lip. "Well... We haven't really talked about what we are."

"Ah, the relationship determiner. Don't worry, a guy like him will fall at your feet." Emily smiled, now knowing that her adopted brother was bisexual.

Rusty's doctor exited and halted when he saw Sharon. "Captain Raydor. Your son is awake. He's specifically asking for you and says it's important."

"Of course. Can this young lady see him later?"

"I don't see why not. But it looks like she's a patient herself and may need to get back to bed soon if she's not careful. I heard from your doctor that he was looking for you. You lost a lot of blood today. You should be resting." he said.

"I know but I need to see Rusty. He's more important." Kris said.

"At least stop pacing and sit down. You will wear yourself out, okay kid?"

"Yeah. Thanks." she mumbled, sitting down. Sharon placed a hand on her good shoulder and smiled.

"As soon as I'm out, you can see him."

"Thank you."

Sharon went into the room, leaving her children, Kris and Sykes outside in silence.

"So what happened?" Ricky asked out of interest, turning to face Kris.

"Oh, some guy attacked and shot Rusty then shot me in the shoulder. That's all I'm willing to say." she warily replied.

Ricky nodded and went back to sitting quietly, waiting for his own time with his brother.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Back with another chapter for you guys. Thanks for reading x**

* * *

Kris waited anxiously as Rusty's family spent time with him. Her doctor had long since found her and warned her to go back to her own ward to rest as she would be discharged the next day.

"Come on...," she repeated, sighing as she stared at the door.

Suddenly, the door opened wide open and Kris stood up, watching Sharon, Ricky and Emily exit, relief written on the females's faces.

"Oh, Kris. You're still waiting. Sorry we took so long, I needed to get Rusty's side of the story." Sharon apologised. "You can go in. Surely your doctor can spare you an hour or so?" she asked, watching Kris's doctor come in.

"Of course, Captain Raydor. An hour and a half, no more." he warned, leaving again.

Kris grinned and went into the hospital room. She slipped into the uncomfortable chair beside her friend and took his hand with her good one.

"Hey you." she whispered.

"Hey." Rusty smiled. "How bad was it?"

"How bad was what?" she asked, feigning confusion.

Rusty sighed and let go of her hand to point at her shoulder. "Sharon said you passed out due to blood loss."

"I was okay!" Kris defended herself.

"You nearly died. You had to have blood transfusions. Your mom told my mom."

"Rusty... You were my main concern because I don't know what I would do without you. You were pretty bad. The guy just wouldn't stop hurting you and I think he actually wanted to leave you for dead." Kris whispered, tears prickling her eyes. "For dead, Russell."

Rusty looked away from her and out into the dark midnight sky where stars littered above. "I know, Kris. I wasn't afraid of dying, Kristen."

"What do you mean?!" Kris whisper-yelled, her eyes widening.

"That guy? He's the reason I tried to protect you."

"From what?"

"My past. He's part of my past which keeps coming into my present and future. That's why I didn't want you to stay with me last year. I was protecting you from him and everything else which came out of my messed up life."

Kris let the tears fall as she finally understood why he had let her down so firmly the year before when all she wanted to do was be with him. It was for her protection. From this whole thing which ended up with both of them in hospital, nearly dying.

"Can you, uh... tell me what happened?"

"You won't like me if I do. It's best that my past stays as it is. The past."

"But your past in here right now, with us!" Kris yelled. Rusty tried to calm her down by facing her and taking her hand once more in his.

"Not willingly. This guy escaped from prison. He wants me dead because I witnessed him do something."

"Do-do what?" she hiccuped.

"That's when I have to stop. Before you know too much. The last person who knew received death threats. I want you to be safe so that's why we shouldn't see each other for a while."

Kris looked down, taking a deep breath. "Okay. So what about us? Do you still feel indifferent towards me?"

Rusty contemplated whether on telling the truth or lying. He went with the latter as he retracted his hand back. "I'm sorry. You were just a... I don't know."

"Okay." Kris felt numb. She just wanted to crawl under her covers in her own bed and cry; never to see the world again. "I better go. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Good luck." Rusty shrugged.

Kris stood up and left, closing the door firmly behind her. She saw the Raydors' eyes on her as Sharon stood up.

"I thought your doctor gave you an hour and a half? That was barely fifteen minutes." she stated, checking her watch.

"I felt tired." Kris said, nodding approval of her answer. "Tell him that I wish him the best in life."

She was about to leave when she was stopped by Ricky. "Did something happen between you guys?"

Kris gave a tight-lipped smile and shook her head. "He's too dangerous for me. It's best that I stay away. Like I should have continued to do."

With that she left, not once turning back as she let more tears fall down her porcelain features.

...

The next day, Kris found herself back at home, sitting on her bed.

"If you need anything, just call. I'm down the hall." her father said, kissing her head and closing the door behind him.

Her mother had to go back to work and her father had decided to work from home because he felt that his daughter should at least have somebody watching over her. He still gave her the freedom to do as she pleased since she was technically in college and an adult but he was there for support if she needed to carry something or get dressed although he left the last thing for his wife. Kris found herself close to her father rather than her mother. Normally it would be the other way around but since her father was rarely away from home, she bonded with him more. Not that her mother didn't bond with her. Kris just felt her father understood her more in ways which her mother couldn't.

Kris unlocked her phone and stared at the selfie that she and Rusty had taken after their scandalous events. She giggled slightly at the way he made her feel but stopped when she remembered the way he _had_ made her feel afterwards. Like some booty call.

Throwing her phone on her bed, she got up and scanned for something to do. If she listened to music, she would end up listening to something that related to her current situation. Being in love with your best friend. How he doesn't notice you. How your heart yearns for some guy only to be let down gently by said guy.

Groaning, she faced her phone. "How about a night out with the girls? Haven't seen them since high school." she mumbled, grabbing her phone and dialling a number.

When she had finished scrolling through and calling the list of friends, she set about getting ready. She was already in dark jeans, black flats and a nice flowery tank top since it was nice and sunny. She took her white leather jacket and slipped her good arm through, struggling to zip it up without putting the other arm through. Having success, she put her phone in her handbag, grabbing it and left her room, heading down the hall.

"Dad? I'm going out with some friends. I'll be back in an hour or so." she said.

"Oh. Okay... Make sure you have some police escorts. Captain Raydor said that the man who hurt you kids is still at large." her father said, looking up from his laptop.

"Okay. They're outside, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. She assigned an Amy Sykes to you."

"Alright, cool. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

She closed the door behind her and headed downstairs. When she opened the door she found two patrol cars and a normal car in her large compound.

Amy Sykes got out of her car, the only one normal, and walked up to her.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked, smiling.

"The mall. A couple of girlfriends are meeting me there." Kris replied, accepting the help when Amy opened the passenger door for her.

"Okay. How's your shoulder?" Sykes asked, getting in herself and putting both their seat belts on.

Kris looked at her right bandaged shoulder and shrugged with her left one. "Alright. I don't feel that much pain any more."

"That's good." Amy replied, starting down the road. "Have you spoke to Rusty since yesterday?"

"No. And I don't want to."

Amy decided not to press on the subject any more as Kris had turned away from her and was currently looked out the window at the passing scenery.

...

"So... Rusty, that good looking girl who's your friend." Ricky started, placing his feet on top of Rusty's hospital bed at the end.

"What about her?" Rusty asked, the desperation to groan nearly coming out.

"She looked upset. Want to elaborate?"

"No. Let's talk about something else." Rusty quickly said, not wanting to get too deep with the brother he barely knew.

Ricky sighed. "Look kid, we may have got off on the wrong foot but I thought we were good now. We should skip all the brother fights and get onto chick talks."

"'Chick talks'? I have no chick." Rusty replied.

"Then let me talk about my new chick, then. Her name's Zoe and she's-"

"Fine, let's talk about me!" Ricky smirked, leaning his elbow on the arm of the chair, about to listen intently.

"So, Kris, is it?"

"Yeah. She's this amazing girl I met last year."

"And you have the hots for her."

"But I'm supposed to be gay. That's what I knew and felt..."

Ricky sighed, taking his feet off the bed to lean closer as if telling a secret. "Some guys calling it the exploration phase. Trust me, I've been through the same thing."

"You, Ricky? But you're so-"

"Straight? Yeah, I am. That's why I am straight now but was confused then. You're probably just bisexual and that's not a problem. Mom still loves you at the end of the day and we all still get along. We don't see you any other way."

"But I'm so confused about my feelings for Kris and other guys."

"Understandable. I heard that you did it four times with the girl. Sure you feel nothing for her?"

Rusty sighed, blushing. "It's was my first real time, okay? Of course, I felt something for Kris. I still do. She's amazing." He took a long pause. "I just wish that I wasn't confused about my feelings."

"What do you mean?"

"I have this friend of mine, TJ. He's helping me with my _Identity_ segment. He's really cool and I've only met him face to face once."

"Wait, this newspaper segment of yours is about that Jane Doe #38, right?" Ricky asked. His heart went out for the family of the girl. Unknowing that she was dead.

Rusty nodded and continued. "Anyway, he's been a big help and a great friend. I talked to my therapist, Dr. Joe about it and he was no help. Can you help me figure out my messed up love life, Ricky?"

Ricky chuckled, shaking his head. "There was a reason why he was no help. The same reason goes for me. You have to work this out before you hurt Kris in the process. The poor girl's smitten over you and you can't even give her the time of day except for a-"

"Don't say 'booty call'." Rusty warned.

"You said it, not me!" Ricky laughed. "Anyway, I know you also want to protect her but at least work out your feelings."

"Thanks for the brotherly advice." Rusty said, putting his hand out. "Who says we can't be friends?"

Ricky smiled and shook his hand. "Well, I better go. Zoe is expecting me to call soon."

"Okay, see you later."

"Bye."

...

Two months later, Phillip Stroh was still at large.

Rusty was becoming impatient of recovering in the hospital. His four broken ribs were nearly healed and he was attending physiotherapy but used crutches to get around his claustrophobic hospital room.

Sharon entered, chuckling at the view of Rusty going round in circles.

"I hate this place!" he yelled, sitting back down on his bed. "When can we go home?"

"Technically, home is not home any more. More like bait."

Rusty's eyes widened. "Then where will we go?"

"Oh, it's still the same building but I bought the top condo. The one with the five bedrooms? That way, Ricky can have his own bedroom when he comes to stay instead of sleeping on the couch." Sharon replied, ruffling Rusty's hair.

"Stop." he chuckled. "And the top floor? Really?" he whined, gesturing to his knee.

"I know but there's more space for you to do your circles."

"They help a bit. Make the room seem bigger than it actually is." he lied.

"Yes, right." Sharon smiled. "The old condo will be bait. We reel Stroh in by saying that you survived the attack."

"But I did."

"He won't know otherwise because we would be lying, won't we?" Sharon retorted, eyebrow raised.

Rusty sighed, nodding. "Have you seen Kris lately?"

"Why would you ask me that? Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Sharon smiled.

"Never mind then." he said shortly. "So, when will I be discharged?"

Sharon sat next to him, smiling. "Tomorrow, in fact. As long as you keep with your physiotherapy. And on top of that, your sessions with Dr Joe and college work."

"So, that means I literally have no time for _Identity_? That sucks. I need to do this, Sharon."

"I know, honey. But once your college work dies down you can focus solely on your newspaper."

"Or... I can just call up TJ and get Kris to help out too. I will keep up with everything once I have them to help."

Sharon smiled, tilting her head. "One thing, you're not talking Kris."

Rusty groaned and rubbed his face. "I'll invite her over for dinner tomorrow."

"How are you holding up?"

"I really don't know... Do I really have to spend the rest of my life, looking over my shoulder?"

Sharon smiled sadly, nodding. "Until we catch him. That, I promise will happen."

She opened her arms up and he leaned into them, making her arms wrap around him firmly. "At least I know somebody cares whether I die or not."

...

The next evening, Kris found herself staring at a test. And the other three on the floor.

She had to tell him. No matter what he said. Or did.

Maybe they could end up working it out.

But first, how was she going to explain this to her parents. Most of all, her father, who supported her and cherished her. Wouldn't news like this break his heart and humiliate him at work?

Picking the tests up, she stuffed them in her bag and exited the bathroom, going to her father's study.

"Hey, I'm ready to head out to Rusty's."

"Okay, sweetheart. Tell him, I said 'hi'." He didn't even bother looking up from his laptop.

"Daddy?"

This gained his attention fully and he snapped shut the laptop, waiting. "Yeah?"

She started to laugh then cry. Her dad got up alarmed and brought her into his arms. "I don't know what to do. I'm so sorry." she sobbed.

"What did you do, princess?" her father asked.

"It shouldn't have happened. We were so very careful. I'm so confused!"

"Kristen!"

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

 **Ooh, cliffhanger! Are you guys liking this? Review please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Back with another chapter for you guys!**

* * *

"You have to tell him. Today, Kristen." They'd been at it for an hour that morning. Kris answering back with one worded answers, her father trying to convince her to do the right thing.

"No." Ironic.

Her father sighed, pulling his daughter up from her numb position on the sofa. "I'm sure they won't mind one more guest."

He gently led her downstairs and out the door to their Alfa Romeo MiTo. "Detective Sykes, we're just on our way to the Raydors' home."

Amy nodded, leaning against her car. "Shall I be the one to escort you or should my colleague?"

"You've done enough for today, ma'am. I'd rather let your colleague bear the burden for now." Kris's father chuckled, receiving a grin and wave from Lt. Chuck Cooper.

"Go home, Amy. I'll continue from here." Cooper said, getting into his car.

Amy sighed, opening the door of hers. "Well, you're supposed to be shadowing Rusty so I guess that's convenient." she replied.

When the Slaters arrived at the Raydors' abode, Ricky was the one to answer the door.

"Kris, is it?" he asked, letting them in.

"Yeah. This is my dad, Michael." she said.

"Nice to meet you sir." Ricky smiled, shaking the older man's hand.

Michael chuckled. "Just call me, Mike."

"Okay, Mike. I'll let my brother know you guys are here. Just head on left, my mom is in the kitchen, cooking up a storm." Ricky said, pointing to the direction.

"Okay, thanks." Kris smiled, leading her father to the kitchen as Ricky headed right.

Sharon sipped on a glass of wine as she and Emily looked up from the cookbook that they were looking at. "Kris! Mr. Slater."

"Sharon, nice to see you." Michael smiled, shaking hers and her daughter's hands. "Kris, say 'hi'."

"Hi." Kris waved meekly.

"How's your shoulder? Should be getting more stronger by the day." Sharon said, placing her glass down.

Kris looked at her arm. "Yeah. I had my cast taken off a couple of days ago. Feels so good to hit the gym and work on it."

Emily laughed at her comment. "Must have been a sight, working on one arm."

"Yeah, it was."

They were disturbed by an arguing Ricky and Rusty.

"No, Ricky."

"Yes."

"What is it now? Can't you boys just lower your hormonal bodies and sit down for just a minute without arguing? Some would think you're girls." Emily mumbled, helping Rusty sit on a stool.

"It's nothing. Just something Ricky said about _Identity_." Rusty said. "Hi, Kris. Hi, Mr. Slater."

"Hi." Kris said shortly, receiving a slight blush from Rusty.

Whereas her father seemed more friendlier. "Rusty, hello. How's the knee doing?"

"Better, thanks. But physiotherapy sucks, though."

Sharon rolled her eyes playfully, pouring a glass of wine for Michael. "He's just complaining because on top of that, he's going therapy, college and trying to find time for his newspaper."

"So he's basically the typical stressed teenager?" Michael asked, chuckling.

"Got that right. Where's Amanda?"

Kris decided to reply. "My mom couldn't make it because she had to work. My dad isn't even staying for long since he has to work himself."

"I actually asked for the day off, sweetheart. Hope you have enough for me."

"Of course." Sharon smiled, leading everyone to the dining room where Rusty and Kris both conveniently sat next to each other.

"Your new condo's sweet." Kris said, looking around the large dining room.

"Thank you. It has a lot of space." Sharon replied, pouring her a drink.

Rusty piped up. "I'm even thinking of turning the new office into my private room for my newspaper preparation."

"Lovely."

"And I need help." Rusty replied, looking straight at Kris.

"Me? I don't know the first thing about newspapers let alone your story." she said, smiling in thanks as Sharon dished her a plate.

Rusty smiled as well to his mother as he collected his plate and turned to Kris again. "Doesn't matter. We can work with it. And a friend of mine will help. I will introduce you and TJ sometime in the near future. You'll like him."

"Will I now?" Kris asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her father sighed, and tilted his head accusingly at his daughter. "Play nice. I thought that you were willing to sort this thing out."

"I am playing nice. He's the one being on and off." she whispered back, well aware that said 'he' was listening.

Sharon decided to turn the conversation to something interesting. "So, the Lakers' game?"

...

Once Kris and Rusty were alone in his new room, Rusty gave her the clothes she had left on the day of their attack.

"I washed them myself. Quiet proud actually because it shows Sharon that I can be responsible in the future."

"So you basically found out how to operate a washing machine?" Kris giggled, leaning against the headboard of the bed.

Rusty chucked a stray pillow at her. "It takes effort you know!"

"I automatically knew I guess since I saw my mom use it countless of times."

They drifted off into silence as Kris played with the hem of her black tank top.

She needed to tell him. She had to tell him. But how? How could she casually drop the fact that she was two months pregnant with her child as the respective ages of 18 and 19? They were barely adults even though legally, they were. Did she even want to keep the baby? She was still in college. He was still in college. They both lived at their parent's house. They didn't even have jobs unless you count tutoring kids as a valuable source of income.

"How have you been?" Rusty asked, breaking their silence.

"Fine. You?" Kris sighed.

"Stressed. But I'm handling it."

"How's therapy going? I bet you have even more to say to your doctor."

Rusty smiled. "Surprisingly, Dr. Joe has left that for a while until I'm ready to talk about it."

"Lucky you. My parents are thinking of sending me to therapy. They think I'm emotionally and mentally scarred. But I'm really not. Just..."

"Unsafe? Unprotected? Exposed?"

Kris started laughing. "What are you? My therapist?" she joked, making him laugh too. "How about you, then? Since you've guessed mine."

"I feel as if somebody's watching my every move. Waiting for the moment to strike." Rusty said, becoming distant. "I feel unsafe but at the same time, protected. I feel claustrophobic because everyone's watching me. I know its for my protection but I feel exposed. Do you feel like that?"

"Yes." Kris said quietly. "I also feel sick. Do you have a bathroom?"

"En-suite, just through there."

"Lucky you." she mumbled, getting up from the bed and locking herself in the bathroom. She let the contents of her stomach out and washed her mouth out, throwing water on her face and wiping it.

There was two knocks on the door, making Kris jump and hyperventilate. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing.

 _ **"He's found me! Oh my God, he knows I'm here!"**_

 _ **"Another damn witness"**_

 _ **"Please. I'll do anything. Just don't kill me.**_

 _ **"Oh, I don't intend to. You're not what I came for, after all."**_

 _ **"Hello? Kris, are you there?"**_

 _ **"And you won't be needing this."**_

"Kris, you okay in there?" Rusty called out.

She found herself back in the bathroom and looked down, breathing heavily. "Uh, yeah. Might have come down with the stomach bug or something." she called back. "When I come out, there's something important that I have to tell you."

"Oh, okay. I'll be waiting, I guess. Do you want some water?"

Kris nodded, realising that he couldn't see her. "Yeah, that'll be great, thanks!"

She started intently at herself in the mirror, forcing her to come out with her secret. "How would I put this?" she muttered to herself. "'Hi, I'm pregnant'? Or, 'I know I've gained weight. That's because I'm pregnant with your child'? I'm barely even showing, forget that."

She sighed and rubbed her stomach instinctively. _Just tell him,_ her mind screamed at her.

She exited the bathroom and waited on his bed. She nearly leaped off the bed and out the front door when she saw Emily and Rusty enter, the former scolding the latter.

"Next time, call. I don't want you straining yourself for nothing."

"That's the reason I go to physiotherapy, Ems." Rusty sighed, rolling his eyes as he watched his older sister placed a small tray with two glasses filled with water on the dresser.

"I know, Russ. But just be careful okay. You're still on crutches. You basically can't hold anything."

"Fair enough. Bye." He shooed her out, making her laugh. "Finally." he muttered, closing the door behind them.

Kris took a glass and gulped most of it down. "Thanks. Needed that."

"No problem."

 _Another memory_ , her mind said. _From the one where he impregnated you. Awful, isn't it, Krissy? Must have said a lot about your relationship, considering he dumped you after. But you didn't even have an exclusive relationship. Ah, 'best' friends with benefits? **Shut up, mind.**_

 ** _"But you shouldn't waste something so valuable on me."_**

 ** _"I want to. You mean an awful lot to me, Rusty Beck and I would give you the world. Even after this and you still feel indifferent towards me, that would be my own clean slate. Gay, bi, straight, I will still want you to take this gift."_**

 ** _"Let's do it."_**

 ** _"And as they would say, 'Deflower me'."_**

 ** _"That was amazing. Thanks."_**

 ** _"No problem."_**

"Kris, you there?"

Kris shook her head slightly to wake herself. "Yeah, sorry. Must have zoned out."

"Yeah, you were gone for five minutes." Rusty smiled, sitting beside her. "Are you okay?"

Kris turned to face him, tears pooling at her eyes. Rusty's genuine concern increased. "I think I need to see someone. I can't get that day out of my mind. I have nightmares." she whispered, looking at the door, afraid of somebody listening in.

"I'll give you the number of my therapist. Dr. Joe. He's annoying at times but he's a good listener."

"Thanks. I appreciate that." She really did.

"Was that was you needed to tell me?"

She shook her head and laid back. Rusty followed suit. "Why don't you like me?"

"I do. I really do but I have to keep a distance to protect you. Once this is over and Stroh's behind bars again, I promise that I'll be there for you."

"That's why I love you." she chuckled at her slight stupidity. "And I'm pregnant."

He almost missed it because his eyes were becoming tired. "Wait, what?"

"You're going to be a daddy."

...

"How has Kris been doing?"

Michael sighed. "Kristen has been a handle. Especially since she's been apart from your son. She's in love with the kid."

"I knew I saw that last year." Sharon replied.

"How about your son?"

"Therapy seems to be working. How has Kris been mentally?"

"Oh, even worse! Mood swings, nightmares, zoning out."

"Can I suggest a therapist?"

"Have you got a contact I can nick?" Michael asked.

"I'm sure I will be able to give you a Dr. Joe Bowman's number." Sharon promised.

Emily got up. "I'll check on them again."

"I thought I was the overprotective mother." Sharon joked.

"Mom, who knows what they're doing." Emily replied.

"Talking?" Ricky suggested.

"You, shut up." Emily warned, leaving down the hall.

There was a comfortable silence until Kris stormed out of the room, coming to a halt in front of her father.

"Let's go."

"Oh, okay...?"

"I've told him. So, let's go." Kris said, grabbing her jacket and bag.

Sharon became intrigued at the conversation. "Richard, why don't you put the rest of the dessert in the fridge."

Ricky could tell that this was serious so he left to do as his mother said.

"What is going on?" Sharon asked the Slaters.

Michael sighed, standing up. "Kris... she's-"

"I'm pregnant."

Sharon's eyes widened behind her glasses as she placed her wine glass on the coffee table and stood up.

"I beg your pardon?"

Kris nervously pulled at the bottom of her top, looking straight at the older female. "We weren't as careful as we thought." she started quietly. "I only found out yesterday. I don't plan on keeping it so don't worry."

Rusty made his way, as quickly as he could, to the living room. "Wait! What did I say wrong?"

"Nothing, that's the thing." Kris sighed. "You said all the right things. It's just me."

"Let's at least give it up for adoption. That way we all can live normal lives."

"But we're going to grow up and probably grow apart, knowing that we have a child that we abandoned out there. I can't do this to either of us. We're still in college, we can't do this."

"Adoption is the best thing to then. Just wait the seven more months."

"How is adoption the best thing, Rusty? That just leaves guilt that we didn't want our own child."

"Trust me, it's either us or adoption. Adoption will be good, trust me. I know from experience." he stole a slight glance at Sharon's direction. "Don't get rid of it. That will be the guilt-filled part."

"Is there more to this?" she asked quietly.

Rusty gave her a look that made her understand straight away. "My past which can never be opened again. I've moved on."

"Seems like you have but not everyone else." Kris said softly. "I'll think about it. I'm sorry for springing it up to you like that."

"No prob-"

He was silenced with a kiss to his cheek. "Don't say that." she whispered. "I'll see you when I can."

With that, the Slaters left, leaving Rusty disheartened.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Back with another chapter for you all. Thanks for the support.**

* * *

Kris had thought hard and long about it. By then, she was four months pregnant and starting to show. Her mother had found out the day after she told the Raydors and Kris was understanding as to why her mother reacted badly. It wasn't her father that she should have been afraid of. It was Amanda Slater, her mother.

She hadn't seen Rusty in those two months since she had last saw him. The last time she contacted him was to tell him that she was fine and had a lot to think about. That was two months ago too.

There was a knock on the door and Kris got up from her bed, pulling her shirt down to cover her stomach. She opened the door and was surprised to see Amy Sykes in front of her. "Hey, I just wanted to inform you that the man who attack you, Phillip Stroh, was sited somewhere near Miami. Authorities over there are trying to detain him."

Kris sighed, nodding. "Shouldn't you tell Rusty this?"

"Captain Raydor is thinking of a way to break it to him gently." Amy replied. "Don't worry, you and your child are safe."

"That's not what I'm worrying about." Kris said, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Kris shook her head. "I'd rather keep this to myself. It's taken me a while to get here and until I'm completely sure, I would like to tell Rusty first."

"Of course. I'll check on you later." Sykes smiled.

"Okay, bye." Kris closed the door and slid down it, sighing.

...

Rusty had come back home from college, feeling exhausted. He was glad that he didn't have to use the crutches just to get around but it would have been nice to lift his leg up to relax it. He wasn't necessarily a health nut like Emily, Richard and Sharon were but he did his fair share of jogs in the morning and afternoons. He had even taken to jog to college and back home lately as his physiotherapist had suggested the extra exercise. Boy, did Rusty regret saying 'Sure'. He immediately placed his keys on the bowl, as always, on top of the side table next to the door and made his way to the kitchen to get a water bottle out of the fridge.

He found a note stuck on the fridge and rolled his eyes playfully before reading it.

 _Rusty,_

 _Won't be home until 10 PM, so order pizza. Emily has gone back home and you better have done your chores before I get back._

 _Love, Sharon x_

He wondered why she hadn't signed it with 'mom' or 'mother' but he didn't complain as he, himself, was still getting used to the idea that she was legally his mother as of last year.

He felt a buzz in his pocket and placed both the bottle and note on the counter, retrieving his phone. He found two unread messages and decided to read the first one.

 _TJ to Rusty: Wanna hang out? x_

Then he read the second one, a faint smile playing on his lips.

 _Kris to Rusty: Can I come over? We need to talk x_

Sighing and groaning a little, he thought carefully about his answers. To be honest, he had wanted to relax at _home_ and continue on his _Identity_ newspaper. He still wasn't close to finding out who Jane Doe #38 really was and he felt like he owed it do her and her family to find out. He barely had the time to work on _Identity_ because he was either trying to contact Kris, attending therapy, college and physiotherapy. He could go and hang out with TJ whilst they worked on the newspaper together but the whole point was to get his friends to meet so that he could make more progress with the newspaper.

He finally knew what to text back to both of them.

 _Rusty to TJ: Sure, we can work on Identity. A friend of mine is going to join us too._

 _Rusty to Kris: I have a friend coming over soon but we can talk when he leaves. Remember I talked about TJ? He's the friend._

 _TJ to Rusty: Would have liked it to be just us but sure, we can all work on Identity together. I'll see you soon._

 _Kris to Rusty: To be honest, I'm at your building right now, I just wanted to let you know. Thanks for accepting xx PS: He better be worth it to waste my time ;)_

Smiling, he opened the door and spotted a slightly bigger Kris walking down the corridor.

"Did you know that the lift's out of service?"

"Yeah, kinda annoying because of my knee." Rusty replied, letting her in and closing the door firmly behind him. He didn't want to take chances. Ever since he and TJ saw each other more, he had warn the friend to text him when he was at the door because anything could happen and Phillip Stroh was still out there.

"Shame." Kris said, sitting down on the sofa and sighing in relief. "I swear I peed three times before I got here. Poor Detective Sykes was annoyed. I felt so bad."

Rusty chuckled, handing her a bottle of water. "How's the baby doing?" he asked.

"Okay. That's the reason I came here. To talk about the baby." Kris admitted.

"Two months and now you have an answer? Too late to get an abortion."

"I'm not getting an abortion. I could never do that. I will endure the torturous nine months."

Rusty smiled, slightly rolling his eyes at her exaggeration. "Do you know what it is?"

"No. I don't want to know."

"Okay." he nodded. "How's your shoulder?"

Kris was glad at the change of topic for now but she knew she would have to go back to it.

"It's better. I do some weights at home since I can't physically go to the gym. And I go online college now because of the baby and the stress." she replied.

"Cool. So, back to the topic of the baby-" He was cut off by the buzzing in his trouser pocket. Smiling his apologies, he got up to answer the door.

TJ came in, smiling as they made their way into the living room. "Since we can't actually go further because we don't know who sent the message, I thought that we could at least post some more photos of Alice or Jane Doe #38 around and we could actually get a hit or something-hello." He finally noticed the quiet girl sitting on the sofa as his eyes reached to her covered stomach.

"Hi." Kris waved shyly.

"I'm TJ, you must be Krista...?"

"Kristen, but people call me Kris." Kris replied.

Rusty sat down next to her. "Yeah so this is TJ, he's helping me with my article so if you have any suggestions or anything handy, you can also ask TJ."

"So, how did you two meet?" TJ asked, sitting across from them.

Kris flicked her hair and crossed her legs. "We went to the same high school."

"Yeah, she was my first friend and since then, we've stayed close." Rusty smiled. "TJ and I met online after he became interested in my story and goal." Rusty explained to her.

"Cool. This story actually reaches out to me so that's why I wanted to help you guys in any way I can." Kris lied easily. She didn't want to work on the newspaper but the story did reach out to her, not in the way that she could do anything to help as Rusty and _his friend_ seemed to have it under control. She would probably mess things up. She could also see the way the two friends looked at each other. _Something's there because that's not how he looks at me,_ she thought. She didn't want to be the one to get in their way.

"You okay, there?" Rusty asked, concern laced in his voice. Kris looked up at him, blushing slightly.

"Yeah."

"You zone out a lot. Have you talked to..." he turned to see TJ engrossed on something on his phone. "Dr. Joe about this?"

Kris smiled and patted his forearm. "No need to worry, everything's okay."

"It obviously isn't. You broke down in front of me a couple of months ago."

"Things are better now. Trust me." Kris begged.

She was shocked when she heard TJ referring to her. "Is the father in the kid's life?"

She opened and closed her mouth, gaping at Rusty. "I, uh, guess. We're not together or anything though. It was a drunken mistake." she smiled, lying. Her heart pounded at her chest as she briefly looked at Rusty.

Rusty himself was not sure on how to respond to the situation so stayed quiet until absolute necessary.

"That's a shame. And you look gorgeous by the way."

"Yeah, thanks."

TJ smiled and turned to face Rusty. "So, are you free tomorrow?"

Kris sighed, nudging him slightly. "I might be. I'll have to check if my mom is planning something." Rusty said. Lying was his strong suit but somehow over the years, it became impossible to lie since his life was basically an open book. To some people at least.

"I was planning on a date but if your mom has planned something, it would be rude to cancel." TJ sighed.

"Yeah, it has something to do with Ricky or Emily, my adopted siblings." Rusty continued.

TJ nodded and stood up. "Just remembered, my dad needs me at his store because he's having a sale and the store's packed. I'll text you later?" he asked hopefully as Rusty followed him to the door.

"Yeah. I'll be expecting it." Rusty smiled. The two stood there unsure of what to do. Kris watched, her heart sinking ever so slowly as the males finally shared a brief kiss and hug. "See you soon."

"Yeah, bye." When the door shut closed, Kris sat back down, crossing her arms silently.

When he came into her peripheral view she decided to talk. "I'm having my four month scan tomorrow. Just to check if everything's alright with the baby."

"Do-do you want me to come with you?" Rusty asked, grabbing his bag from the floor and placing it on the sofa.

"If you want. I don't want to pressure you or anything. You don't have to get involved in this, I'm more than happy to do it alone."

"Kris, I wasn't raised like that. Well, I was but that's not the point. I'm going to stick with you, whether you like it or not."

At least it was now 1-1 between Kris and TJ. "Thanks." she smiled, biting her lip.

Rusty's eyes reached down to her lips as he licked his. "So, I've been thinking baby names because to be honest, it's all I've been thinking about for these past couple of months, really." he said, trying to stop himself from responding to her bitten lip.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I wanted to talk adoption with you. We're obviously too young to be parents and we're not even together. It was a spur of the moment thing and... we're just not ready."

He looked up at her eyes and found himself unable to speak. It was _him_ who suggested it. Why did he suggest it? Why did he suddenly have the reaction to protect this child against every bad thing in the world just like Sharon did for him? Why did he have the urge to bubble wrap the child and protect it from harm?

"Rusty, say something?" Kris whispered.

"We can still name it, right?" he whispered back, his heart breaking.

Kris sighed. "Okay, yeah. What have you got?"

"Shiloh for a boy and Marissa for a girl."

Kris was surprised. From the soaps she usually watched, the guys were always terrible at choosing names. "Those are nice and perfect. I was thinking Jonah and Alyssa."

"How about Shiloh Jonah and Alyssa Marissa?" Rusty asked.

"They rhyme and they're perfect." Kris grinned. "But we're still thinking adoption, okay? I don't want to get too attached to the baby so when it's born, I don't want to know what gender it is. You can if you want and you can name it but I just want to move on after this. Get my life back."

"I understand." Rusty sighed, getting up. "Pizza's for dinner. Sharon won't be home until 10, so..."

"I don't mind." Kris shrugged.

...

Kris and Rusty waited anxiously for her scan. It wasn't until thirty minutes later did they hear her name. "Kristen Slater?"

They stood and followed the doctor to a private room. "Hello, Kris. How are you today?"

"I'm good, thanks."

"I see you've brought someone. Care to introduce us?" her doctor teased.

"Oh, yeah." Kris blushed. "Rusty, this is Dr. Mullican. Dr. Mullican, this is the baby's father, Rusty."

The older female shook hands with Rusty and sat comfortably back in her swivel chair. "Nice to finally meet you. Let's get started, shall we?"

Kris laid on the bed and pulled up her shirt. It was Rusty's first time seeing the naked swollen stomach and to say that he was proud would be the least.

Dr. Mullican placed blue gel on Kris's stomach before placing an unusual looking stick on the gel. "Let me just find a heartbeat."

It took quite a while but she found the faint heartbeat of the unborn child. "That's looking quite weak for an unborn." Kris commented.

"Yeah, you're right." her doctor mumbled. "Give me a second. This is known as bradycardia." The doctor worked a bit more to try and get a louder and quicker heartbeat but it stayed the same.

"The baby is alright, right?" Rusty asked, concerned as they all looked at the ultrasound screen.

"To be honest, this could go away but if it doesn't... there's nothing we can really do until the baby is born. Then we will have to fit the baby with a pacemaker."

Kris found herself placing a hand on her stomach. "Is it bad?"

"Well, when you're roughly eight months, you'll have to be admitted to hospital to help with the labour process. From there, we can straight away tend to your child. You have nothing to worry about." Dr. Mullian assured them. "To be on the safe side, check back with me, every two weeks so we can see baby's improvements."

"We will." Rusty replied, taking Kris's hand into his.

"Would you like a sonogram?"

Kris nodded. "Five copies, please."

"I'll be right back." The two nineteen year olds watched as the doctor left the room.

"It's probably my fault." Rusty sighed, staring at the screen. "I haven't always lived the best of lives and it was probably inherited or something."

"Or it could be environmental, meaning my fault because I was stressed to much. I don't want to hurt our child."

"I thought we were giving it up for adoption?"

Kris sighed. "Yeah but still, at the end of the day, we're its biological parents and I'll feel bad if I know I've let it down somehow."

"You're going to be a good mom even if we're not keeping it. Your decisions enough are the best things you could do for it. That's one of the reasons I love you." Rusty whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I saw you kiss TJ. You like him, you really do. So, stop playing with my heart and making moves that I can't counteract."

Rusty leaned back, letting go of her hand. "Sorry." he mumbled.

"No. I'm sorry for falling in love with an unreachable _gay_ guy." Kris retorted.

"I'm bi-"

"Trust me, you're not."

She was relieved to see her doctor enter and glared at Rusty as she collected the scan pictures.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Back with another chapter. Thanks for the reviews! x**

* * *

As Rusty walked down the corridor of his college, he swore he saw someone familiar. Rolling his eyes, he made his way over to them.

"Emma."

"I've been waiting for you, Rusty." DDA Emma Rios said, shaking his hand to make sure that they were on at least good terms again.

He saw two other people he knew. "Chad, Jamey, good to see you guys again as well."

"Ditto." Chad replied.

"Anyway, we're here to talk about-"

"Stroh? Well, guess what? He broke into my home, beat me up yet I live to tell the story so I think I'm okay for now. Bye." He was about to leave when Chad pulled him by his hood.

"Have you been updated on Stroh's whereabouts?" Emma asked, tilting her head expectantly.

Rusty sighed and shrugged. "Miami was what I heard last."

"Well, he's back in L.A." Emma announced. "Get in the car, we'll talk about this somewhere else."

There was nowhere for him to run to. He really wished that he had taken his car. The best he could come up with was to lie. "Actually, I haven't finished with my classes yet and I'm collecting work for Kris too, so..."

"We'll wait for you." Jamey smirked, leaning against the wall. "And follow you everywhere. Think of us as your beloved bodyguards again."

Rusty let out an exasperated yell before storming back down the corridor, not once looking back as he knew they were following.

...

"Uh, I feel fat." Kris groaned, drinking her strawberry milkshake.

"I would imagine. You ate a burger and the rest of mine." Rusty said, packing away their rubbish and throwing it in the bin.

"Well, thanks to you, I'm eating for two." Kris smirked. "When will this Emma Rios return? I need to use the toilet again."

Rusty rolled his eyes playfully before exiting the interview room to search for the woman in question. He spotted her talking to Sharon as simultaneously, they turned and faced him. Sharon nodded and Emma exited the former's office, making her way over to Rusty.

"Let's enter, shall we?" she asked, gesturing inside.

They entered the interview room and Rusty took his seat beside Kris again as Emma sat across from them.

"So, what's this about?" Kris asked, slurping on her milkshake.

Emma smiled lightly and sighed, thinking of a way to break the news gently to them. "Well, we are concerned for both of your safeties. Kristen, I've spoken to your parents and they think this is best. Rusty, I'm still trying to convince Sharon."

The two teenagers shared a look of confusion before turning back to Rios. What was so important that their parents were involved?

"We were considering witness protection programme. For the both of you. Rusty, you're an key figure in the Phillip Stroh case and now that he's apparently back in Los Angeles, we'll have to put you in protection."

Rusty couldn't believe it. The first time they had suggested this, he rejected it. "No. And Kris is not going either. She's staying."

"Rusty, if this can protect us, why are you turning it down?"

Rusty turned to Kris. "They'll split us up not only from each other but from our families. We'll never see or hear from them again. I've only just got Sharon, I can't bear to leave her."

Kris placed her hands on her stomach. "This guy, Phillip Stroh, said that he wasn't here for me. Does that mean I'm safe? Because technically he shot my shoulder not my head or chest. He wanted me to live."

Emma's eyes glanced to the nineteen year old's stomach. "Yes but, Kristen... you have a part of Rusty growing inside of you. If this man wants somebody dead, he will stop at nothing to kill them. And once he finds out that Rusty has a child... I'll leave the rest to your imagination."

Rusty shook his head in disbelief. "Stop putting things like that into her head! We don't need you and we don't need the witness protection programme either, okay?"

"Maybe..., we should do it." Kris whispered, turning to face him. He shook his head, making her turn to Rios. "Tell us everything. Who we would be, what we would do..."

Emma was about to reply when Sharon entered. "The ultimate answer is: no. I do not believe that these children would benefit from going into the WPP."

Rusty grinned thankful for Sharon Raydor. "Thanks." he whispered.

"I will arrange for somebody to take you home. And Kris, your new shadows will be Chad Stuart and Jamey Perez." Sharon said. "And Rusty, I won't be home until 11 today so make sure you do eat and study."

"Yes, Mother." Rusty sighed. Sharon smiled in triumph before leaving the room.

"Well, if you ever think about this, call me up." Emma said, giving Kris her contact card. "Rusty, you know how to get to me." With that, she left.

Kris stood up, grabbing her bag. "Don't you want this kid to be safe?" she asked, pointing at her five month old stomach.

"I do but witness protection programmes never work, especially in this case. Last guy who stood against Stroh got murdered, okay? I want us all to be safe and staying home is better to be safe. That way we can draw him in."

Kris sighed, placing a hand on Rusty's shoulder. "I trust you to keep us safe. Now, let's go."

...

When they arrived at the condo's front door, they were met with TJ.

"Rusty, do you know this guy?" Chad asked.

Rusty rolled his eyes. "Yes, he's a friend. Don't worry, he's cool."

"Hi, TJ." Kris smiled as Rusty opened the front door.

"Hey, Krista."

"It's Kristen." Kris blushed.

"Sorry, keep forgetting." TJ replied, not at all sorry for his mistake.

Rusty disregarded the small dispute and entered, Kris and TJ following. "You guys going to stay out here?"

"Yeah, Rusty. Do you mind getting us something to eat? I skipped on breakfast." Chad cringed, holding his stomach.

"Well done, genius! Don't worry, Russ, I got it." Jamey handed him a twenty dollar bill. "Chinese takeout, for everyone."

Rusty stared at the note. "This isn't even enough for three of us and Kris is eating for two." he replied, making Kris smirk in pleasure at the mere thought of more food. Maybe being pregnant was gaining its advantages.

"Fine. You're making my pockets dry." Jamey whined, giving him another twenty."

"Thank you. I'll leave you to interrogate the poor delivery guy when he gets here. Bye!" Rusty slammed the door shut and made his way to his room to put away his bag before joining his friends in the kitchen.

"I got you some orange juice." Kris said, handing him a glass.

"Thanks." Rusty smiled.

TJ leaned against the bar stool, watching the two friends. "So, Kris, is it?"

"Yeah, just Kris."

"Are you around Rusty's a lot?" he asked.

Kris smiled broadly. "Yeah. I hang out with him when my parents are busy. He's the only one who gets me anyway." _Point 2, Kristen!_

"What do you guys have in common? To me, you look like the stuck up rich girl type. He's more down-to-earth."

Kris looked insulted as Rusty stood there, sipping his juice as he wanted to see where this was going.

"Well, look around buckaroo. Rusty's family have a bit of the sweet life. And we have a lot in common. We're both into English Literature and chess." she replied.

"That's two. Name another." TJ said, raising an eyebrow.

Rusty turned to her, begging her with his eyes not to say their child. "We both have... messed up families." she whispered.

Rusty's interest had peaked since he never really knew much about her home life, just the fact that she and her father got along well.

"Do you want to expand?" TJ asked carefully, knowing he was treading on dangerous territory. His own home life had not been all that great either since no one in his family knew that he was gay.

"I have a brother... Kyle. He, uh... ran away when he was fifteen. That was eight years ago. He would have been twenty-three if he is even still alive." she whispered, wiping a tear from her eye. She opened the locket around her neck and showed the males a photo of a blonde haired, grey eyed boy who was smiling broadly at the camera. "That was taken the year before he left."

"Let's not talk-"

"You? Tell me about your life before Sharon." TJ asked gently.

"My dad left before I was born and hates my guts now and my mother did... things to help us survive before one day she left me at a zoo and never came back. There. You happy now? You've just opened up a can of worms for us all." With that, he left to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Kris closed the locked and turned to face TJ. "I think that you should go."

"There's something going on between you guys. I see the looks and the touches. What is it?"

Kris sniffed, wiping the tears from her face. "You really want to know?" she taunted.

"Yes, I do." TJ said, gulping slightly as he knew he might not like what was to come next.

"This baby inside of me... It wasn't a drunken mistake. It was out of love and passion between me and Rusty. I love him but he's fallen out of love with me. He loves you." She started chuckling lightly at the love triangle she had managed to get tangled in as she placed her hands protectively on her stomach. "Word of advice, don't ask about his past. It will only hurt you and him in the process."

"Do you know-"

"I don't. And I never will. I don't even think I want to know." Kris whispered, tears slipping down her face. "To be honest, he was never mine to begin with. I should just stay away from him because it's hurting me so much."

TJ turned to face the door where Rusty had gone through. "I'm sorry. I thought... he loved you."

"No, he loves you. I hear the way he talks about you like you're this new found drug. He never talks about me. I'm just the mother of his child that we're not keeping."

"I have to go."

Kris shrugged, leading the way to the door. "I'll tell him you had to go."

TJ nodded, opening the door and leaving.

Kris smiled convincingly at the two officers on duty. "Takeout being ordered." she said before closing the door behind her gently. She quickly ordered the food before placing the phone back on its charger.

She crept as quietly as she could to Rusty's room and knocked on the door, opening it to find him staring intently at the ceiling. She closed the door and joined him in his bed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah... I know my mom didn't mean it. I forgave her but... it hurts to talk about it sometimes. My life on the streets wasn't the perfect life. And when you said that I was living the sweet life... it made me think how grateful I am to have somebody like Sharon behind me to guide me."

"You don't have to tell me anything about your past unless the things your willing to let slip. You know, you seem just like my brother, Kyle. He was as sweet and sensitive like you. He was a hard-worker, ambitious. He strived to get the best things." she started to sob and Rusty wrapped an arm around her, kissing her head.

"You don't have to tell me about him. I'm willing to just be there for you."

"It was exactly eight years since yesterday." she continued. "He would have loved you."

"I'm sure he would have. After we've eaten, do you want to take a nap?"

Kris smiled, sniffing and wiping her tears away. "You know a way to a pregnant girl's heart."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's another chapter for you guys. Thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot! xx**

* * *

"How far along are you?" Emily Raydor asked as she and Kris sat in her bedroom, doing each other's nails.

"Eight months. I'll have to go to the hospital soon when I'm getting close to my due date because the kid has bradycardia and has to have a pacemaker thing fitted in as soon as possible."

"Sounds serious." Emily mumbled. "Can I tell you something secret?"

Kris smiled comfortingly. "I guess we're practically sisters now. What is it?"

Emily sighed, waving her hands to dry the nail varnish. "I'm pregnant."

"Wow! That's amazing! I didn't even know you had a guy." Kris replied, making herself more comfortable on the bed.

"I don't any more. He left me."

Kris's eyes widened. "Before or after the baby bomb?"

"After." Emily whispered, willing herself not to cry. "I'm scared to tell my family because... they would be so disappointed in me. I moved away from home just to make something of myself, end up becoming a dance teacher and getting knocked up with a guy who doesn't even love me."

"Well, my parents are disappointed with me because of most of your reasons." Kris said gently. "I'm nineteen, pregnant and not married. And the guy who knocked me up is gay or bisexual and doesn't love me either."

Emily laughed a little. "I guess we have a lot in common, don't we?"

"Yeah, we do. You should tell your mom though. If she's supportive of Rusty and I, I bet she will be supportive of you." Kris assured the only Raydor daughter.

"Yeah, I bet she will." Emily smiled. She felt something wet underneath her feet and checked her water bottle. "Hmm, that's wet."

"Uh oh." Kris mumbled, looking down. "My waters have broken."

Emily's eyes widened as she realised that they were the only ones home. "Uh..., okay, let's get you up first."

She wiped her feet on the duvet and got up, rushing to the other side to help Kris up. "Have you got a car?"

"Well, Rusty always seems to have Chad and Jamey dropping him off or goes jogging. Either way, we have his car."

"What happened to yours?" Kris asked out of interest as Emily collected their bags and manoeuvred her out.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Being serviced. Some guy hit my car."

"Ouch, were you-" Kris let out a loud yell as she sank to the floor.

"And that would be the contractions. Seems painful." Emily whispered. "And no, I wasn't inside there. But I saw it happen. Okay, now we have to count the minutes between your contractions. Good to go?"

"Yeah." Emily help Kris up as the former grabbed the house and car keys before they went out of the condo, meeting Amy Sykes walking towards them.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Baby's coming." Kris gritted out, accepting the extra help from the detective.

Amy's eyes widened. "I'll call Sharon and Rusty on the way."

They were about to step into the elevator when Kris stopped them. "No. What if it decides to break? I am not having my child inside an elevator!"

"Would you rather fly ten storeys down? Or better yet, take the stairs?" Emily hissed.

Kris glared at her.

"Ladies, no time for arguing. Let's just take the elevator. I promise you Kris, nothing will happen." Amy said.

Content with the answer, the three females went inside the elevator. Luckily, they made it to the lobby, meeting Chuck staring at them

"Are you okay there?" he asked the ladies as he entered and pressed the button for the basement floor.

"No time to talk! Kris is in labour!" Amy yelled, as she and Emily helped Kris out of the elevator as soon as it reached the car park.

Emily unlocked the car and Amy got in the back with Kris.

"I'll drive." Chuck said, taking the keys off of Emily as she dashed to the passenger door.

"I'll call my mom and brother." Emily replied. "Soon, you're going to be a mommy!" she gushed at Kris as the car made its way out of the car park and down the road.

"I thought I already-" Kris let out a yell as Emily smiled, rolling her eyes.

"That was fifteen minutes." Emily said.

"What does that mean?" Kris gritted out.

Amy smiled, stroking the teenager's hair gently. "Baby's coming soon."

"Okay. And I thought I already was a mommy. From the minute I found out about the baby?"

"Yeah but now, you get to hold the baby." Emily replied.

Kris shook her head. "I won't. I'm not keeping it, remember? Rusty and I talked about it. I even told him to name it."

"'It' will soon have a name and an identity, no matter what you do for its life. It will always be bound to you because you and Rusty are its biological parents no matter what. In the future, it may even realise that its new parents aren't their real parents and may even come looking for you. You have to be prepared for all possible outcomes." Amy told her.

Kris groaned. "Now you're making me have second thoughts!"

...

"Have you thought about the WPP?" Emma asked Rusty as he worked on his article.

"Yes, I have. The answer's still no." Rusty replied. His phone rang and he rejected the call, thinking it was TJ.

"Who's pissed you off so much?" she asked, noticing the abruptness of the rejected call.

Rusty raised an eyebrow at her. "Nobody. And it's none of your business."

Emma raised her hands in defence. "Sorry for asking. Look, Rusty, you do know I am no the enemy and I have never been the enemy, right?"

"You may not be my enemy but you sure do act like it. And you just want to send me away so that's one less problem you have."

Emma shook her head, smiling. "Trust me Rusty, I'm more thankful for you because it shows that I still have a job. The reason why I want to send you way is because believe it or not, I've actually grown fond of you and I would hate to see anything bad happen to you, your little girlfriend and your child. Phillip Stroh is a dangerous man, you know that. Help me, help you."

"I'll reconsider the WPP, then. Happy now?" To be honest, what she had said had melted his heart a little. Another person to add to the endless list of people who care a lot about him.

"Yes, I am. But if the answer's still no, I'll have to find something else that works. You don't deserve a lifetime of looking over your shoulder."

"And I don't deserve a lifetime of living in a fake reality." Rusty replied, taking his ringing phone out of his pocket.

Just then, Sharon entered. "Rusty. Amy has been trying to reach you. And so has Emily."

"Why, what's happened?" Rusty asked, packing away his stuff.

"Kris has gone into labour."

"What?! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Boys." Emma chuckled, leaving.

"I'll drive you down there." Sharon offered.

"Will you? Thanks." Rusty said, appreciatively.

"Well, come on then!"

...

"Can I help you?" Rusty turned to face the receptionist on duty.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a Kristen Slater?" Rusty said, drumming his fingers on the desktop.

"Sorry, unless you're family, no visitors allowed."

"I'm the baby's father." Rusty tried.

The receptionist's eyebrows raised as she nodded. "Okay, third floor, maternity ward. Good luck."

"Thanks." Rusty smiled, leaving the desk. "Sharon, we're going up to the third floor."

Sharon nodded, placing her phone back into her bag as she and Rusty entered the elevator, pressing the button '3'.

When they got to the floor, a nurse directed them to the waiting room where Amy, Chuck, Emily and Michael were waiting.

"There you are! We've been trying to-"

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm here now." Rusty cut off Emily.

"Amanda's with her." Amy said. "She would be more than happy to let you take over."

"No, I'm good here." Rusty replied, merely freaking out at the option of watching a female in labour. From the stories he heard and read, women tended not to be as understanding and calm in these situations. Somebody who attended their college had said that his older sister had managed to break bones in her husband's hand just from the vice-like grip she had whilst pushing the baby out. "Best to leave Kris with her mother. She's more experienced in this forte."

Emily chuckled, wrapping her arms around him. "You're so innocent, little brother."

"Innocent? Really, Ems?" Rusty laughed, wrapping his own arms around her. "You're huggy all of a sudden."

"Don't worry about it. Come sit with me."

...

It was hours unto a midwife came into the waiting room, smiling brightly. "Rusty?" she called out.

Rusty stood up, wiping his hands on his trousers. "That's me."

"Would you like to come with me?" she asked.

Rusty nodded with encouragement from Sharon. He followed the midwife down the hall and into a private room where Amanda was just leaving, grinning.

"Hi, she's worn out but she's awake."

"And the-the baby?"

"Pacemaker's all fitted in." Amanda replied softly. "I'll check up on you guys, later." She patted his shoulder and left for the waiting room.

The midwife smiled at him. "I'll be at the nurses' station."

Rusty nodded before entering the room to see Kris leaning over a small incubator. "He's beautiful."

"He?"

"We have a little boy." Kris smiled, biting her lip.

Rusty breathed out in surprise before donning his own smile. He walked closer to the cot and placed his hands on the lid, watching _his son_ breathe.

"Hi, Shiloh." he whispered.

"We did say that we were going to name him that, didn't we?" Kris asked gently. "Shiloh Jonah... What will his surname be?"

"I thought we weren't going to keep him?"

Kris tilted her head. "Are you seriously thinking that we can give away our child after we've seen him? He's perfect. We can't give him up."

"Now, I agree with you on that." Rusty said, kissing her forehead. "You did well."

"I guess." she blushed.

"How about Raydor?" Rusty asked. "Legally, I'm a Raydor now and children always take their father's name, right?"

"Right. But we're not together or anything." Kris pointed out.

Rusty shrugged. "Hyphenated then. Shiloh Raydor-Slater. Or Shiloh Slater-Raydor-"

"Or Shiloh Beck." Kris finished. "Beck-Slater..."

"They all don't sound right..." Rusty cringed. "Let's just stick with Shiloh Slater."

"And have his initials as SS? Hmm, no. Shiloh Beck-Raydor-Slater seems just fine for now."

Rusty shook his head. "Let's stick with Shiloh Slater-Raydor. I want him to at least be close to Sharon."

"Then let's not hyphenate it. Let's stick with the simple option of Shiloh Raydor. I'm okay with him not adopting my name because at the end of the day, children get their father's name."

"If their parents are married." Rusty pointed out. "We're not even together."

"I know but, it saves us time arguing over it. Shiloh Jonah Raydor. It's perfect."

"Just like him. And just like his mom."

Kris blushed, smiling as she shook her head. "Stop that. You can go now. Have a date with TJ."

"I'm done with him personally. It's strictly professional between us but you and I? We have a different story. We can leave, you, me and Shiloh. We can start again without looking over our shoulders."

Kris shook her head again. "But we'll always be looking over our shoulders. That's what you always say. But the WPP doesn't seem like a bad idea anymore. Shiloh needs to be safe and if it means leaving our lives here, I don't mind."

Rusty nodded and put a finger through a small hole at the side of the incubator. "Is it safe to touch him?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Rusty grinned, and placed his finger in Shiloh's petite hand which immediately latched on tightly. "Strong grip." Rusty commented. "Hi, buddy. I'm your daddy. And that pretty girl over there's your mommy. We love you so much and will do anything to keep you safe."

"We'll call Emma Rios and schedule a meeting."

"And we'll have to leave as soon as possible."

* * *

 **They have a plan to be safe. Will it work?**


	8. Chapter 8

**It's official! SUMMER HOLIDAYS! Here's another chapter to celebrate.**

* * *

 _Five Years Later_

A blonde 24 year old got into his car, a black Range Rover. He adjusted the rear-view mirror and jumped when he saw a man with black hair and black rimmed glasses. Eyes widening and heart pumping loudly, he closed his eyes and opened them, seeing that one of the back doors of the car was opened.

 ** _Forgotten me already, Mr. Beck?_**

It couldn't be... Could it?

There was a knock on the window and he opened the door to see one of his colleagues standing there.

"Hey, Graham. You do know that the door's opened, right?" His friend asked, closing it for him.

"Yeah, I do. I just realised. Probably must have zoned out or something. Thanks." Graham replied.

"Happens to the best of us, no worries. How's Stefanie doing?"

Graham smiled at the thought of his wife. "She's doing well, thanks. Still doesn't want to go on maternity leave until absolute necessary."

"She's eight months along. Convince her. You even told me that Jonah came about eight months."

"Yeah, he did. Well, I better go pick him up from school. Thanks again, Mark." Graham smiled, closing the door to Mark's waving hand.

He was still shaken up from what he saw. He didn't _think_ he saw him but he _knew_ he saw him. His enemy was sitting right there, being his shoulder.

Rushing down the road, he felt the need to immediately collect his son from school and his wife from work and take them to a triple security locked bunker.

How did he find them in Detroit, Michigan?

Arriving at the kindergarten, he exited his car and entered the reception area.

"Hello, Mr. Hart. How are you today?" Jonah's teacher Miss Poppy asked as she fetched for the child.

"Great thanks. How was Jonah?" Graham asked, ruffling the kid's hair.

Miss Poppy grinned. "Fantastic! I'm really happy he's one of the few to know his alphabet and numbers. He's advancing really quickly."

"He has his mother's brain." Graham said proudly.

"How is Miss Stefanie doing? I hear she loves her new school."

Stefanie Hart had been hired to work at another school. She was now teaching 1st graders and the pay was better.

"She adores it. Well, we better not keep her waiting. She's pregnant and hormonal." Graham said, making Miss Poppy giggle.

"Bye guys!"

Graham helped his son get into his car seat and drove away from the school, making the twenty minute journey to the other elementary school.

"How was school?"

Jonah shrugged, playing with his worn teddy bear which his father's mother had given him when he was born. "It was okay. Miss Poppy says that I am clever."

"You are."

"But I don't want to be. The other kids make fun of me and I can't play with them because I get tired easily."

Graham sighed. "Listen Shiloh," The child's head whipped up at the sound of his first name. "It's not your fault that your ill. If you want, we could change your schools if you're not happy."

"Okay." he mumbled. "When will we use our real names?"

"We can't because we're not ready."

"Ready for what?" Shiloh asked.

Graham smiled. "Don't worry. Let's get mommy."

...

Stefanie got out of the car and walked up to the front door as her husband got their son out of his car seat. She spotted a gift box on the floor. "Honey? Can you pick this up for me?"

Graham nodded and picked the box up. "It's for you."

She took the box off of him. "Thanks."

Opening the door, she entered, sitting down on the sofa. She ripped the wrapping off the box and opened it, gasping and flinging it away from her.

"Go and play in your room, Shiloh." Graham said, making his way over to her. "You okay, Kris?"

Kris shook her head. "Look inside." she whispered.

Rusty picked the box up and took out a hoodie and a photo of her and Shiloh with the words in block capital, 'YOU'RE NOT WHAT I CAME FOR, AFTER ALL.'.

Kris closed her eyes, her breathing quickening.

 ** _"Please, I'll do anything. Just don't kill me."_**

 ** _"Oh, I don't intend to. You're not what I came for, after all."_**

"Whose hoodie is this?" Rusty asked.

Kris shook her head in disbelief. "It smells like Kyle."

"He's taunting us. He's here." Rusty shook his head.

"What do we do, Rusty?" Kris whispered, not wanting their five year old to hear.

Rusty shrugged. "This is exactly what I knew would happen. We shouldn't have done this. Everything's going wrong..."

"Let's call Emma." Kris said, wiping her tears.

"I'll do it. You just get dinner ready. I'll sort it out, okay?" he asked, kissing her head.

"I trust you to keep us safe." she whispered, placing a hand on her stomach. She got up and went to start on dinner whilst Rusty searched for their emergency contacts. He flipped through the surnames and halted when he saw three Raydors.

He missed them. A lot. When he told them that he had to leave, they didn't take it so well. Even Ricky threatened to deal with Stroh himself for making his younger brother scared. Emily burst into tears and refused to let him go but Sharon... she stayed quiet. It was as if she didn't approve but thought that it was best.

Rios was underneath Sharon's name and the Slaters were underneath Emma's. People they ought have stayed in contact with even with the witness protection programme.

Life was a fake reality but at least they did things that they'd enjoyed. They both finished online college before Rusty got hired to write inspirational segments in the local newspaper. Sometimes, his boss even let him write stories about the local schooling systems and over boring but interesting things out there. Technically, he was a journalist who adopted the name of Graham Hart. Graham's wife, Stefanie was a Elementary school teacher at the young age of twenty-four. They had their dream jobs, well, kinda but it wasn't worth it if they couldn't see their friends and families.

Breathing deeply, Rusty dialled Emma Rios's number and pressed 'call'.

"Hello?"

"Emma. It's me... Rusty."

Emma Rios gasped, switching the phone from her left ear to her right. "Graham!" She cautiously looked around her workplace before shutting the door to her office. "How are you? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"He's found us."

"You're coming home. I knew Sharon was right. This... This was a mistake, I am so sorry." Emma bit her lip and paced her office. "How's everyone?"

"We're good. He's only targeted Kris and I so far. I'm scared that he would hurt Shiloh."

"What did he actually do to you guys?" Emma asked, leaning against her desk.

Rusty paused, carefully thinking of his answer. "I'll answer that later but can you do me a favour?"

"What?"

"Can you look for a Kyle Slater on the missing person's database?"

Emma's curiosity increased as she drew the blinds in her office and sat at her desk, opening her laptop. "I'm not good at this thing because I'm a DDA but I'll see what I can do..." she mumbled, typing on her laptop.

"He broke into my car." Rusty said as she continued searching.

"He was literally a metre away from you?!" Emma whisper-yelled, pausing her typing as she switched ears again.

Rusty nodded. "Yeah, but he left. It was a like a ghost. And get this, when we got home we found a package for Kris. It had a hoodie supposedly from Kyle. And there was a photo of her and Shiloh with the same words he said to her nearly six years ago."

"I'll sort something out. You guys are getting out of there as soon as possible. I will do everything in my power to ensure your protection. And I got hits on Kyle Slater."

"Well?"

Emma sighed, biting her lip. "Well, he was sited in England thirteen years ago, around the time he left. He's back on the missing person's database but under another name."

Rusty's heartbeat quickened. "Tell me."

"Kyle Stroh."

Rusty shook his head. "Search everything about him. This is for Kris and her family."

"Okay... Phillip may have abducted him... We don't know. Or it could be a coincidence."

"Thirteen years, Emma. Stroh could have found him and changed him."

"I'll get someone on it. I'll bring him back home. And whilst that is happening, I'll bring you guys home as well. Stay put, okay? Should I inform your families?"

"Let's keep it as a surprise. I have to go." Rusty said.

Somebody urgently burst into Emma's office. "Okay, I'll see you soon, Graham. Love you, bye!" She smiled at the person waiting. "Just my boyfriend."

Rusty's eyebrows burrowed in confusion as he stared at the phone. He placed the phone back on its charger and smiled when his son rushed into the room, holding up a toy car.

"Since you are the only one who plays with me, will you play cars with me?"

Rusty ruffled his hair. "Let's go set up the track and get the remote controls."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. I had to start the story from age 24 so that they could have careers and it will fit with the summary.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Back with another chapter! I don't realise that I make intense chapters until I've posted them and read them so I guess that's a good thing as it draws the readers in? Thanks for the response guys!**

* * *

"I can't eat. I can't sleep..." Kris sighed as she laid in bed that night. "What if he's got Kyle?"

Rusty stilled for a moment, hoping that she hadn't heard his conversation with Emma. "Don't think about that. And you have to eat and sleep because of the baby."

Kris smiled at the mere thought of the child inside her. "You know, I was frightened when I found out about Shy because we were so young... But for this one? I'm calm and I know that this is right."

Rusty twisted his wedding band on his ring finger. "Do you think that getting married was the best thing to do?"

"We're already bound for life because of Shy and now Alyssa. And it was bound to happen anyway whether we love each other or not."

"I feel that it's not fair on you..." Rusty whispered. "Being with someone whose heart is not really in it."

"I don't mind really. As long as I have someone to bitch about it to." she smiled, making him chuckle. "Your heart may not be in this relationship but you make up for it by just being there."

Rusty took her hand and entwined their fingers. "It's really easy to talk to you. Since I can't talk to Emily, I'm glad I have you."

"Thank you. It's great to have you too. But if you're really worried about all of this, I wouldn't mind a divorce. We were practically forced into this anyway, so..."

"By choice. And I intend to make this work. If not for us, but for the sake of the kids."

Kris leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips. "Thank you."

"Have you spoke to the school about resigning?"

"Yeah, they accepted and were sad to see me go. When I explained that we were going back home to be closer to our families, they understood completely. What about you? How did the office take it?"

Rusty cringed. "I'm the best writer they _had_. They still want me so I said maybe in the future, I could come back and resume my position. Can you believe it? In a week or so, we'll be home."

"Home is where the heart is." Kris replied gently.

"What does that mean?" Rusty asked.

Kris patted his knee. "Good luck with reuniting with TJ." With that, she struggled to get up and after succeeding she left the room.

"I don't even see TJ like that any more!" he yelled after her.

...

A week later, the couple found themselves with Shiloh, waiting in an interview room.

Emma Rios had managed to get them inside undetected by neither Sharon or her team. Rusty had been adamant about it being a surprise.

"How long do we have to wait? I need to pee." Kris mumbled.

Rusty chuckled. "I remember you saying something like that, five years ago."

"Do you, now? Well, from experience, you should know that I don't like to be kept waiting." she replied, drumming her fingers on the table.

Emma walked in just then. "Don't worry, Mrs Hart, you won't have to wait any longer." she said.

"What about our real names?" Kris asked, nervously biting her lip.

"Sorry. Force of habit, _Mrs Beck_."

Kris cringed. "I'll be just fine with Kris, please."

Emma smiled. "Of course. Sharon and the team are coming back from a case and should be here in T-minus two minutes so look casual."

"How do you even look casual in a situation like this?" Rusty mumbled, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers. "Shy, come here."

Shiloh stood up from his place on the floor, playing with his toys. "Yeah?"

"We're going to see your grandmother again. Then soon, we'll see your mommy's parents and my brother and sister."

"The ones from when I was a baby?"

"Yeah, the ones from when you were a baby." Kris smiled, ruffling Shiloh's blonde hair.

Just then there were voices outside the door. "I'll check it out." Emma said, leaving.

She walked towards Sharon's office and spotted her in a discussion with Lieutenant Flynn and Provenza.

"Captain Raydor?" Emma called out.

Sharon halted her conversation and turned to the young female with an eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

"I have something to show you."

"Can't it wait?" Sharon asked, folding her arms.

Emma grinned. "It really can't, Captain. Follow me."

Intrigued, Sharon followed Emma and gasped when Emma opened the door.

Rusty stood up and took a step closer to Sharon. "Hey." he said gently.

Sharon let out a sob before wrapping her arms tightly around him. "You're here. You're really here." she mumbled. "Oh my God..." she breathed out.

They let go of each other and she turned to face Kris and Shiloh, letting her eyes linger on her grandson. "Say 'hi', Shy."

"He's still as beautiful as the day he was born." Sharon whispered, kneeling down to Shiloh's height. "Hello, sweetheart. Remember me?"

Shiloh nodded, holding his teddy bear closer to him. "Hello." he whispered. "I kept the teddy you gave me."

Sharon laughed and kissed his forehead. "I'm glad you did." she replied. She stood up and hugged Kris. "You look gorgeous!"

Kris blushed, smiling. "Really? This horrible black dress was the best I could do because I never thought that I would be pregnant again."

"Still, you look great. It's so good to see you guys again." she breathed out, pressing a hand to her chest. "I'm still processing whether or not this is real."

"It's real, mom. I'm here." Rusty said, hugging her tightly.

"Tell me everything! I need to know how you guys have been doing. I've been so worried these past five years..." She had nearly missed the fact that he had called her mom. She stopped and turned to face him. "You finally called me 'mom'?" she asked, smiling.

"Well, you've been more of a mother than my biological one so... why not?"

"I love it!" she whispered.

Kris smiled then stood up. "Okay, can we take this somewhere else. Baby's getting a bit restless."

"Oh! Is it a girl or a boy?"

"Girl." Rusty said proudly.

"Another granddaughter!" Sharon smiled. "Come, come see everyone! Then we can go home, let Kris rest and I'll call up Ricky, Zoe and the kids and Emily and her family as well. We are finally complete again."

Everyone could see the happiness in Sharon's eyes, as if a great wall of defence had been broken down by seeing that one person who changed her life forever.

When they left the room, the whole team's eyes faced them.

"Tell me it isn't so." Provenza said, standing up.

"Lieutenant, you don't look a day over fifty." Rusty smiled.

"Oh shut up and give me a hug, kid." The old man grumbled.

Amy walked up beside Kris, smiling. "It's nice to see you guys again."

"Same here." Kris smiled back watching as Rusty greeted everyone.

...

"I can't believe my baby girl's back!" Amanda Slater whispered, cupping her daughter's cheeks. "Look how... grown up you look!"

"Hey, Princess." Michael grinned.

None of them let her have the chance to talk since they asked her questions at a million miles per hour. "So, another kid, huh?"

"Married? Why didn't you tell us, Princess?"

"Honey, look how big Shiloh is! Can we have him stay the night? Give you two some time alone?"

"They'd probably want to get settled in first. Princess, would you like pancakes? I remember you craved for them when you were pregnant with Shiloh. See, Am? Men notice these kind of stuff-"

"Guys!" Kris yelled out. "Wow, just let yourselves catch your breaths okay?" she smiled, hugging her parents again. "Yes, we are expecting again; it's a girl. And we got married as Graham Hart and Stefanie Fitzgerald so we couldn't exactly get in touch with you guys on the WPP. Don't worry, we're renewing our vows as ourselves. And yes, take him for the night because Rusty and I have some things to do. And, daddy? I would love pancakes."

Her parents smiled in content as her father left for the kitchen. "So, what do you guys have to talk about?"

Rusty raised his eyebrows at finally being acknowledged. "It's nothing. Just...-"

"WPP stuff. And moving stuff from our home in Michigan to here." Kris cut in, pointedly looking at him.

"Yeah. At least we have the car sorted."

"One of them and I wasn't willing to fly because I'm eight months pregnant. And I will not have my baby in an aeroplane."

Amanda just nodded, content with their answer. "So, have you seen Captain Raydor?"

"She was the first person we saw." Rusty said, checking his phone. "I have to make a couple of calls. Emily and Ricky would have probably got wind of our return."

"Okay." Kris replied, watching him leave the room.

"Tell me the truth. Are you happy?" Amanda asked her daughter.

Kris turned to face her, a plastic smiled planted on her face. "Mom, if I wasn't happy, would I have given him two children and said 'yes' on our wedding day?"

"I can see your pain. I've been through it before I got with your father."

"Mom, we love each other, enough said."

Amanda shook her head, looking at her grandson. "You're holding him back. Having kids for him so he has no choice but to stick by you-"

"Are you calling me a dictator? Rusty is free to do what he wants without seeking permission from me!" Kris whisper-yelled. "And I am not condemning him to a life of unhappiness. I even suggested a divorce."

Amanda nodded once. "You've just admitted to not being happy."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because your father and I want you to be happy. Move on from him, divorce him. You're both in a loveless marriage and trust me, that is worse than being widowed."

Kris bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something that she would soon come to regret. So she just watched her son, who looked exactly like her husband, and thought about what he would want.

...

"So glad mom kept both condos." Rusty said as he laid on the bed in the master bedroom and the five-bedroom condo.

"Yeah." Kris replied shortly, putting her robe on.

"Where are you going? I thought we had some things to talk about." Rusty asked, following her to the kitchen.

Kris shrugged dismissively. "I'm hungry and I'm tired so we'll talk when I wanna."

"Why are you being so pissy all of a sudden?"

"Me? Pissy?" she scoffed. "I'm pregnant remember? So, sorry if my hormones are all over the place. It's even your fault!"

"I thought you wanted another child! Why are you arguing with me? What did I do?"

Kris glared at him. "What did you _do_? You ruined my life."

Rusty stayed silent as he watched her make herself a ham salad sandwich casually, without a care of what her words did to him.

Kris, on the other hand, was crying inside, mentally punching herself for saying things so cruel. Her mom was always right when it came to relationships. Rusty was her first and probably her last but the unhappiness of their marriage was eating her up inside.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Rusty whispered, taking his ring off. "Let's go ahead with the divorce."

She heard him leave, her heart yearning for him to stop and forgive her.

Kris finished her sandwich and switched off the lights, heading for a guest bedroom. She sat on the bed and let the tears silently fall down her cheeks.

...

"Mommy! Daddy!" Shiloh called out as he rushed into the condo.

"Hey, kid!" Rusty grinned, throwing him over his shoulder, making the youngster giggle. "Thanks for dropping him off." Rusty thanked his in-laws.

Amanda smiled. "It's no problem, really. Is Krissy in?"

Rusty nodded. "She's sorting out things in one of the guest bedrooms. It's the one with the open door." he instructed, watching Amanda head in the direction.

"So... Do you have any beer?" Rusty chuckled and let Michael in.

"How was Shy?"

Michael ruffled the child's hair. "He was an angel, don't worry. He said that you guys normally give him cookies and milk before bed."

"Oh, did he?" Rusty smirked.

"I'm guessing that was a little tall tale." Michael chuckled.

Rusty led him into the kitchen where he popped open beers for Michael and himself. "I'm not usually into beer but since this is Ricky's, I'll take one."

"So, how has life been for you?"

Rusty shrugged. "Family life has actually turned out to be great considering my start in life."

"That's good. I notice that you're not wearing your ring."

Rusty stared at his bare ring finger. "We weren't technically married anyway. Why live in a lie?"

"Do you know what you guys need?"

"What?"

"Couples Therapy. Am and I go every month. It's a week away from the kids and life and it's just about getting to know each other better."

"We never have the time." Rusty dismissed the idea.

Michael raised his beer bottle. "After baby's born, spend a month with her, get used to her then suddenly, you're out the door following me and Am to Hawaii for a week."

"One problem, Kris hates my guts. We don't even sleep in the same bed any more." Rusty replied, finishing his beer. "These really taste horrible."

"You missed out on being young. You'll get used to it." Michael waved it off. "And what do you mean, she hates your guts?"

"Last night she was all pissed at me. She was on then suddenly she was off and like a locked cage or something."

Michael chuckled. "That's called pregnancy for you."

"No... It was more than that. It was like she really hated my guts because she said, and I quote, 'You ruined my life'. Does that mean that she regrets Shy, me and Alyssa?"

"I don't have anything to say about that, sorry kid."

"Maybe," he took a pause to sip his beer. "It's because of the whole Phillip Stroh thing. If I had told her to stay away, she wouldn't have gotten attacked, pregnant and have to move half across the country just for me. She's right, I ruined her life. She would be better off without me."

"Don't say that..." Michael sighed.

"And I'm going to end this. I don't want to keep living my life in fear. I'll leave them so that they could be safe. They're my life and if something's wrong, I'll do everything in my power to make it right."

"And leaving her at her time of need is right?" Michael asked.

"Don't say it like that. She doesn't need me. She made that clear."

"But I do need you..."

Rusty turned to face Kris who had tears in her eyes. "No, you don't. I ruined your life remember?"

"Yeah," Kris sighed. "But you made it better."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Took me days to perfect.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Back with another chapter! Thanks for reading, guys.**

* * *

A cry woke Kris up as she stared blankly at the ceiling. Sighing, she got out of bed and walked down the hallway halting when she heard a soft voice whisper things about stars and moons.

"...And when stars join up to each other, they're called constellations. They're pretty. I've never personally seen one but I've studied them in school."

Kris leaned against` the door jamb and watched as Rusty sat with Alyssa now sound asleep on his chest.

"Your mom was in my class. We actually didn't know each other but we got chatting when our teacher partnered us up for a project. We became really close. No wonder we got married and had you and your brother, huh?" he looked down and smiled. "You're a princess, aren't you?" he mumbled, kissing her head. "You have loads of family here for you. Your Aunt Emily has two kids and one is around your age but she's one years old. Your Uncle Ricky has three kids and his youngest, his son, is two years old. You will get along with them when you're a bit older. You also have another uncle but he's not around. Your mom says good things about him. I hope to meet him one day."

Kris had decided that she had heard enough and was about to leave for her room when she heard Rusty talk again.

"Soon, I'll go on a short trip with mommy. We need some time to ourselves, your grandfather says. I don't see a point, though..." She urged him to go on with her mind. Why didn't he see a point in this Couples Retreat Therapy thing? "Because we'll miss you and Shy so much."

 _Nice save, coward_ , Kris thought. _Lie to our daughter._

"And your mom and I are not really on the same page any more. We used to be one but now we're two again. Don't worry though. Whatever happens, we both love you and your brother very much, okay?"

He kissed her head and placed her back in her cot, pulling her blanket over her. Kris quickly rushed back to her room and got into bed, closing her eyes shut. She could feel his presence there as she did every night since their confessions. She felt his lips on her head and heard him leave the room. Breathing a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes, biting her cheeks to stop herself from crying.

...

"So, what do you think of the villa?" Amanda asked two weeks later.

"It's pretty, mom." Kris said, smiling lightly as she wrapped an arm around Rusty's waist.

Amanda turned to Rusty expectantly. "Oh, yeah, it's nice." He walked over to the windows and looked through the blinds. "Secluded." he whispered.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. Just a nice view of the beach from here." Rusty lied.

Amanda grinned. "I know right? Okay, your therapist will meet you tomorrow because we want you guys to settle in first, have some time alone." She winked. "We'll also have breakfast, lunch and dinner together tomorrow so enjoy this night. Bye guys!" she called out, leaving.

Kris watched from the window as she saw her mother head to her father in front of their own villa. Her and Rusty hadn't even expected such a holiday home as they only needed twin bed hotel room but her parents had the money and they wanted their first retreat to be special.

"We're alone now, we can drop the act." Rusty said, wheeling his suitcase to one of the rooms.

"Wait!" Kris called out, following him with her own suitcase. "We have to make an effort so... we'll both be sleeping together in the same room, same bed and we're going to make this work."

Rusty raised his eyebrow and headed for the master bedroom instead. "If you say so."

Kris smiled and followed him. "Do you want me to unpack while you search the fridge for something to eat?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in a min." He was about to leave when Kris stopped him, placing a kiss on his lips. "What was that for?" he asked, licking his lips.

"I'm sorry for everything." Kris mumbled, sneaking her arms around his waist. "I'm... I have a lot of things on my mind lately and... I'm sorry for everything. You didn't deserve the hurt I caused-"

She was cut off by a kiss as she slipped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer as they fell onto the bed.

...

"Are you awake?" Rusty whispered.

Kris leaned up, pulling the sheets around her torso tighter. "I am now."

"Sorry."

"I'm just messin' with you. I have been awake for a while now, thinking about the kids."

"So... what does this mean for us?" Rusty asked, picking at the hem of the comforter.

Kris shrugged. "Do you want there to be an us? Because I really do and at the same time, I don't want to spend forever in a loveless marriage."

"I do love you. I've grown to love you and I want to be with you, not just because of the kids but because you understand me like I understand you."

"And we're just as messed up as each other." Kris added, entwining their fingers.

A silence fell upon them but it was wanted.

It was cut when Rusty checked the time. "We never got 'round to unpacking and checking for food, did we?"

Kris smirked. "Sorry that I'm so desirable."

"Well," Rusty placed a kiss on her lips. "I'm going to actually check for something to eat because I'm starving and it's past seven."

"I hadn't realised." Kris said, watching the darkening sky.

Rusty smiled anyway and threw on his boxers, leaving the room.

There was a yell and Kris quickly threw on her robe and rushed out to see her father laughing and her mother covering her eyes.

"Mom, dad?!" Kris yelled.

"Sorry for dropping by unexpected. We just figured that you'd want to follow us to this restaurant across the road." her dad replied.

"That is my queue to get dressed." Rusty said, blushing as he left the room quickly.

Amanda opened her eyes. "No guessing to what you guys did."

"We have two kids and you're still iffy about that? We're twenty-five!"

"You're technically still twenty-four but that's not the case. It's just... I wish I knew whether your brother was like you. Family man, getting along with his kids and his wife..." Amanda mumbled.

"I'm going to get dressed." Kris said shortly, leaving the room.

Rusty stood beside the door, dressed. "I heard your conversation. What's wrong with them mentioning your brother?"

"That's the issue," Kris said, putting her bra on. "They never do. It's probably the first time in fourteen years since they mentioned him."

"Doesn't that mean that they're trying?"

"They gave up looking for him after the first five months of him running away. They even spent money on a PI. Nothing worked."

Rusty wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "Maybe it will do your family good if you looked again. You'll never know what you may find. "

"What does that mean?" Kris asked, turning to face him.

"Nothing. Just that you could find him." Rusty saved himself. "Now hurry up, we don't want your mother getting any ideas."

Kris watched as he left the bedroom, confusion still written on her features. _What the heck does he mean?_

"Kris! Hurry up!" Amanda called out.

"Give me a minute!" Kris called back, throwing a dress on. "This will do."

...

"I was thinking that after the therapy, everyday, we could visit landmarks and tourist attractions..." Amanda said, digging into her Hawaiian salad.

Kris nodded, smiling. "I would love to learn how to surf again. I'm a bit rusty since my last wave."

"You surfed? When was this?" Rusty asked.

"When I was ten. I was pretty decent but stuff happened." Kris replied, ending the conversation.

Michael started a new one. "I was always scared to go to Hawaii because of the storms and the volcano but it actually is beautiful. Especially at night where you can see the still, dark blue ocean."

Everyone turned to face the ocean from their view on the porch. They had a requested a secluded table and had managed to get a sweet view along with it.

"It's a dope view." Kris smiled, turning to face Rusty who smiled back at her.

"'Dope'? No, honey, I think the word you're looking for is 'majestic'." Amanda corrected.

Kris just giggled, shaking her head as her hand found Rusty's under the table. "So, how does this therapy thing work?"

"Well, your therapist will ask you questions about your relationship, try and solve problems by offering advice then she will provide you with homework-"

"Homework? We're not kids." Rusty cut in.

"I know and she knows but they're just like, tell your partner that you love them five times a day or something." Amanda shrugged.

Kris turned to face Rusty. "So it's like an ego booster, huh?" she smirked. "I love you, honey."

"And I love you, too, honey." Rusty replied, trying to stop himself from laughing.

"You guys are young so you won't take this seriously." Michael stated, laughing. "Well, I'm stuffed. How about you guys?"

Everyone nodded and Michael called for the waiter to come with their bill. "We must go out for a walk on the beach. It's only nine."

"Okay, but we must get back to the villa in time for us to say goodnight to the kids. Emily goes to bed at half past and Shy, quarter past so we better get in touch with Ems before she sleeps." Kris said, as they all stood up.

Michael quickly paid the bill and the four left the restaurant, crossing the road to get to the beach.

Kris took off her sandals and held them in her hand as she looped her free arm through Rusty's. "This is nice, isn't it?" she asked, feeling the sand get in between her toes. "I know what I want to do on a beach." she whispered, suggestively into Rusty's ear.

"Isn't that illegal?" Rusty smirked as they watched the older couple dip their toes into the water, their shoes in their hands.

Kris turned to face him. "It will be a good story to tell to our 'therapist'. Exciting illegal places to have sex in."

"I'm for the legal stuff remember? My mom is a cop."

"You're no fun!" Kris giggled. "This might even improve our work-in-progress marriage!"

Rusty nudged her lightly. "Let's stick to kitchen counters and beds, please."

"That was one time! Shy wasn't there!" Kris laughed blushing.

"We were nearly caught by our neighbour! She was eighty years old! And how would we tell our daughter that she was conceived on a kitchen counter?"

"I don't know. And at least, we live in a private condo, on the top floor. The only people to watch our show would be the ones who can be bothered to be stationed in top floors of high-rise buildings."

"You make it seem like we want to be watched."

Kris shook her head. "I'd rather my private sex life, stays private." Kris grinned.

"You're so weird."

...

"How long have you been together?" Dr. Andrea Larkey asked.

"Well, technically... four years?" Kris replied. "We don't really know but I can tell you how long we've been married for."

"Go ahead."

"Three years."

Andrea nodded. "How long have you been having issues for?"

"Ever since our first child, Shiloh, was born." Rusty replied, shifting in his seat.

"And you weren't together?"

The couple shook their heads.

"There was a bit of miscommunication between us but we agreed on one thing." Rusty said, turning to face his wife.

"Which was?"

"To protect our family. We signed for the Witness Protection Programme since I had witnessed something some guy did and he escaped from prison."

Andrea raised her eyebrow. "Do continue. Feel free to miss out any key details. Cases such as this are sensitive so, take your time."

"So when our son was born, we left a month later, to Michigan. Detroit to be specific. We both finished online college and got jobs pretty quickly. Things were fine... we weren't arguing or anything but there was a little bit of avoidance between us." Kris continued.

"Then we went on our first proper date after a friend of ours offered to babysit for us. We were twenty, I was nearly twenty-one."

"Then we got married a year later after loads of dates. Then three years later, we had another child."

Andrea wrote in her notepad and looked up to face them, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Were there problems between the time you got married to the birth of your second child?"

"A few major arguments but nothing that didn't go unsorted." Kris smiled lightly.

"Tell me about these arguments."

Kris waved it off. "Just hormonal things like, leaving the toilet seat up-"

"Saying that I don't love you but some jerk I knew, calling me gay-"

"But-"

"Let's talk about this. Rusty do you know your sexuality?" Andrea asked, writing something in her pad.

"When I was growing up, in my teens, I felt that I was gay-"

"Has this been a major issue in your arguments?"

"Yes," "No,"

"Are you gay? Do you feel forced to be with Kristen?"

Kris turned to face Rusty, also expectant of an answer.

"Well, we obviously slept together so I defined myself -and felt- bisexual. There was a guy that I had something with but the spark had gone and I found myself falling hard for Kris. I never felt this way about anyone, let alone a girl. I've had boyfriends but never a girlfriend, especially one that I ended up settling down with and having two kids with." Rusty looked up to face Andrea. "So no, I don't feel forced to be with somebody I cherish so much."

Kris stayed silent as she actually thought about their relationship. She always took over and made the decisions and passes but he stayed content with the smiles and hugs she gave him. She loved him so much but she didn't want to scare him away or make him uncomfortable. She was finally glad that he felt the same way.

"I love you." Kris sniffed, kissing him.

"I love you too."

And they meant it. It was the first time they said it since their wedding day and they meant it.

"How's your sex life?"

The both of them started laughing hard as they shook their heads. "It's okay, trust me." Kris giggled.

"I see that it is..." Andrea mumbled. "Well, I have to cut this short because I hear that you're going on a tourist trip."

"We are?" Rusty asked. Kris nodded.

"Last minute, let's go!"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Back with another chapter! Sorry for the delay! xx**

* * *

He had waited for this to happen. It was their third night there and they found themselves sitting side by side on the couch as two guns were pointed at them.

"Took your time." Rusty commented.

Phillip tilted his head warningly. "Well, I had business to take care of."

"Look, I'm not even involved in all this so... let me go?" Kris asked gently.

Phillip chuckled, shaking his head. "Not the brightest crayon in the box, are you? Once I kill Russell here, I will kill you. Because then, you'll be a witness and honey, I don't leave witnesses."

"I gathered that." Kris hissed, folding her arms. "Not exactly how I planned my holiday to be like. A month and a bit of being slim ruined by a gunshot wound. Great." she mumbled.

Rusty ignored the urge to grab her hand and hold it tightly. He had to act hostile towards her. For their safety and to get home to their two kids who were waiting for them.

"Why can't you just get it over and done with? You've been waiting ten years for this moment, Stroh." Rusty said, leaning back. "I'm not scared. You've nearly killed me once and I was ready for that. Now, I'm ready again."

"It's no fun if you're expecting this." Stroh tutted.

Kris narrowed her eyes. "If you're planning to kill us both then you're planning to make two innocent children orphans. How is that fun?"

"I didn't say it was going to be fun for you." Stroh simply replied, shrugging.

Kris shook her head and stood up. "Well then, I'm not afraid to die either. I knew what I was getting myself into when I met Rusty. We're in this together."

Rusty grabbed her hand and stood up also. "Can't you just let this one go, Stroh? I've moved on and I just want to..."

"What? You just want to what? Live? Forget all that happened?"

"Look, I promise I won't go against you in court. I will no longer be a witness. If you're caught then you're likely to walk away because... I will not be a witness any more. This has just brought me grief upon grief and now I have three people to think about other than me. I know I'm not afraid of dying but I am afraid of leaving my family. My real one didn't want me so the one I have now... I have to cherish forever."

"You're going to retract your statement?"

Rusty nodded. "I just want my life back."

Stroh stood up. "Then there's no case against me. See no evil, hear no evil." he smirked.

Kris looked between them. "So... are we good? We leave you alone, you leave us alone."

"Yeah, I guess. But, let me leave you with a goodbye gift as a warning that if you don't retract your statement and leave your position as key witness..." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a phone. Placing a gun on the table, he accessed the gallery on his phone and showed them a picture of Sharon, Shiloh and Alyssa.

"Your pretty wife, along with your mom and kids... I have eyes on them and I could strike at any moment."

"Don't threaten my family." Rusty said lowly.

He didn't see it coming. Neither did Kris. All they knew was that Phillip Stroh had gone once again and Kris was on the floor, clutching her stomach.

"Oh my God..." Rusty breathed out, kneeling down beside her. "Just..., uh, keep pressure on the wound."

Kris glared at him. "What-what do you th-think I'm doing?!"

They both pressed a pillow on her stomach as Rusty used a bloodied hand to dial the emergency services. "They'll be here soon. You're going to be alright, I promise."

"Kiss me."

"I... Right now?"

Kris nodded as Rusty placed his lips on hers. They stayed like that for one and a half minutes before Rusty disconnected their lips. "Took my mind off..."

Her breathing became shallow as Rusty quickly stood up, running to the villa her parents were staying at. He was thankful that he was wearing pyjamas and not anything less.

He banged on the door and watched as the lights came on and a shadow hurrying to the door. The door opened and revealed Michael. "Rusty? What-? It's 3 AM!"

"Kris... she's been shot. Stroh-"

"Amanda!" Michael yelled as Rusty ran back to the villa.

He knelt beside Kris and held her hand as he used the other to press against the wound. "You're going to be okay."

"You promise?" she whispered.

"Think about how Alyssa would be two months old soon... That's close to three months where she can eat things other than drink milk, right?"

"She looks like... you, with... my hair."

Rusty smiled, wiping her hair away from her face as her parents rushed in with EMTs. "But she's strong like her mom." his voice broke. He backed away and rubbed his hands together, feeling the blood mix with his sweat.

He couldn't lose her. Not for the third time. The first time, he begged her to break contact with him for her own protection. The second time, she nearly died after being shot for the first time five years ago. The third time... He couldn't bear to think about a world without her.

"What happened?" Amanda asked, tears running down her face as they watched Kris being strapped onto a gurney.

Rusty held his breath, unable to answer as the air in the room became hotter. "Son, are you okay?" he could faintly hear.

"Oh my God, he's going..."

Breathing shallow. Everything dark.

...

Rusty woke up to the sounds of whispering and annoying beeping. He groaned, bringing a hand up to a plastered forehead. He could blindly tell that there were six people in the room with him.

"He's awake." A female voice said quietly.

He turned to the speaker and smiled lightly. "Hey."

"Why didn't you call me? Tell me that Phillip Stroh was after you?"

"Sharon... _Mom_ , I didn't know that Emma didn't inform you. And I never wanted you to worry about me. I'm 25."

Sharon sighed, taking her glasses off and briefly turned to Emma with a look that obviously meant 'I'll deal with you later'. "Rusty... Your wife is in hospital again and that's because of Stroh, _again_. Look, there is not only you and Kris in this situation. You have two children who count on you both to protect them."

"I know that. That's why I am withdrawing my witness statement."

There were gasps around the room. "You-you can't! That's... that's the only thing that could send Stroh down for life."

"Didn't stop him for escaping and making my life hell." Rusty mumbled, a dark tone in his voice. "He threatened my kids and you, Sharon. I can't let him torment me forever so that's why I am retracting my statement."

"Rusty... Do you know what this means?" Provenza asked. "There would be no case against Stroh. He would walk scot-free for a crime he _did_ commit."

"And this will not end after you retract your statement." Emma added. "He would still come after you because the stakes are low and you will not be able to put forward a statement again. He would want to be sure that you will never be able to trick him."

Rusty gulped. "Can we do this later? I need to see Kris."

* * *

 **There you go! x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the long delay, I've been busy with life. Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

"Hey." Kris whispered, gently wiping his blonde hair from his shallow eyes.

"Sorry this happened. Again." Rusty whispered back, equally as quiet.

Kris smiled as she rolled her eyes. "I knew what I was getting into when I first met you. It seems like that was a lifetime ago."

Rusty reached out a hand to hold hers but retracted it just as she went to took it. "Kris...," he sighed, licking his bottom lip before looking down.

Kris's smile left her face as her eyes darkened. "No. You don't get to do this. We're in this togeth-"

"You have to be safe. Shiloh and Alyssa need you. I will sleep easily at night when I know that you guys are safe no matter what. They don't need me, they need you."

"Rusty..." she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. "Are you telling me that this is the end? After what we've both been through? Have you forgotten the fact that Kyle is somewhat involved here?"

Rusty sighed, leaning back in the chair. "Kris, this is to protect you. Go somewhere nice, start again and meet someone new."

"You know... I think along the way, you fell in love with me. You stopped pretending. Why else would you be making stupid suggestions about what I should do with _our_ kids?"

Rusty glared at her. "Because he will kill us all no matter what the circumstances are!" he snapped.

Kris looked down as more tears slipped down her cheeks. "I really do love you. Fine, I'll take the kids and we'll leave. Australia looks good, doesn't it?"

"Thank you." Rusty said, kissing her head. "Leave tomorrow. I'll get Amy to book tickets."

"What will happen to you, though?" Kris frowned.

Rusty smiled at her. "Don't worry about me, Kris. I'll... I'll find a way out somehow. Then I'll join you guys and we'll be a proper family again."

"Does it have to be so soon?" she cried, clutching his hand.

Rusty leaned his forehead against hers as he lowered his voice. "If anything happened to you guys, I don't know what I would do. So yeah, it has to be soon to reduce your chances of being caught."

"Okay." Kris replied, giving him a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

His heart broke as the words left his lips before he could stop them. He didn't want to give her false hope but it could probably give her something to hold on to.

"More than life, itself." he added quietly.

...

The next day, Kris found herself reunited with her children.

"Where's Daddy?" Shiloh asked as they stood in the busy airport.

Sharon knelt down to her grandson's height and stroked his cheek. "He got held up but he says he loves you and your sister very much and he will see you guys very soon."

Shiloh looked up to his mother and sighed. "Is something wrong, Mommy?"

Kris laughed and shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong. We're just going on a long holiday."

"And there will be lots of sun, just like home." Sharon added.

Shiloh looked over to his mother's parents and smiled. "Are you coming too?"

"No," Amanda smiled lightly. "It's just you, your momma and your sister, my love."

"And 'Loh, you better bring back gifts for us, eh, kid?" Michael asked, ruffling Shiloh's hair.

Shiloh giggled. "Okay!"

"Alright, let's go." Kris said, kissing her sleeping daughter's head and taking her son's hand.

Michael gave Kris her bag and the tickets and also an envelope. "I got you guys a nice little house by the sea. And there's a school near it for Shiloh. Don't worry, it's private and I'm paying for it."

"Thanks Dad." Kris smiled, accepting his hug. She also got two from Sharon and her mother.

"Safe flight." Amanda smiled.

Kris nodded and walked away from her life, the second time in her life. She just hoped that Rusty would be okay without them.

...

Rusty was happy to be back home in the condo. When he got to L.A, Richard had picked him up and drove him straight home, no chit-chat and he was thankful for that.

He laid on his bed and saw a picture of his family, taken the day Alyssa was born. He picked it up and kissed it before placing it on his chest as if it could bring comfort.

There was a knock on the door and Emily entered, holding a tray with two mugs. "Hot chocolate, my lovely?"

Rusty smiled before tears slipped down his face and his smile turned into a frown.

"Oh, Russy." Emily cooed, placing the tray down and hugging him.

Rusty listened to his sister's heartbeat and cried even harder. It wasn't like Kris's. Kris had a slow, even heartbeat. This heartbeat was a bit quicker and thumped differently.

"Why did I ask her to leave?" he cried.

"Because you wanted your family to be safe. Look, I know it may seem like there's nothing to live for in the moment but you'll see them again.

Rusty sniffed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "I guess." he mumbled. "I'm glad you're here though."

Emily smiled, kissing his head. "I'm glad you're here too. I missed you so much."

"Same." Rusty replied, allowing himself to calm down to his sister's now even heartbeat. It still wasn't the same. "You know, it was the first time we had sex in eleven months." He blushed, it was awkward to bring up, especially to his sister but he needed to get it out.

"Wow, that long of sexual frustration, huh? Next, you'll be saying that she's pregnant again." she chuckled.

"I kinda hope not. We're still fixing our marriage and Stroh's still out there." he replied.

Emily nodded, hugging him tighter. "At least it wasn't the first time you had sex in _thirteen_ months." Emily giggled.

Rusty burst out laughing and was glad that he still had her. And she was amazing.

* * *

 **A little brother/sister bonding x**


	13. Chapter 13

Rusty woke with a start and felt the bed beside him, suddenly remembering that she wasn't there. He almost cried but he knew he had to be strong for her. And their son and daughter.

The door opened and Sharon entered, sitting beside him on the bed. "I heard you,"

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

She shook her head. "I was already awake, sweetheart. I couldn't sleep."

"I keep thinking about them. I need to know if they're safe, Mom."

Sharon sighed, kissing his head. "I'll ask the detail I have on them in the morning. Or night, depending on the time zone."

"Thanks,"

Sharon nodded and stood up, smiling gently before leaving the room. Rusty sighed, leaning back against the pillows as he willed the tears to stop pouring from his eyes.

"Be a man, Rusty." he mumbled, sniffing.

He just wanted to feel them in his arms again. To tell them that he loved them, that he will always be there but he couldn't. Stroh had ripped his family from him. And he had to pay.

Determined, Rusty got out of bed and headed down to Ricky's room, knocking on the door quietly.

It later opened and Ricky groggily asked him what was up.

"I need to find Stroh."

"Are you-" Ricky stopped himself short and turned back to look at his sleeping wife. "Let's go to the kitchen."

When they entered the kitchen, Ricky started pacing.

"You are signing a death warrant, bro. Mom's told me about Stroh. He doesn't seem like a walk in the park."

"But he always finds me. What if I find him and stop him from hurting me again? From destroying my family again?"

Ricky sighed and sat down on the barstool. "Look, he could hurt you and I don't know what Mom would do if you were hurt again. She has only just gotten over the fact that she can't wrap you up in cotton wool for the rest of your life. And I can't protect you on my own,"

"Are you saying that you'll help me only if we have backup?"

Ricky almost groaned. "Sure, why not. But please remember that we have wives and children who would hate to see us gone. How old's Shy? Just 4? 5? I have Penny and she's just 3. We have to put our families first."

"That's what I'm doing! Stroh is out to get me and my family so I'm preventing that from happening. I am putting my kids first."

Ricky nodded and patted Rusty's shoulder. "We should go to bed. Zoe's probably realised that the pillow isn't me."

They chuckled and Ricky did something he thought he would never do. He hugged Rusty and quickly left before the other blonde had a chance to register what had just happened. He smiled and went to bed himself, feeling better that he had another sibling at his back.

...

"We can bring Stroh down for the murder of the judge," Emma Rios said that morning. "If Rusty has decided to not be a witness and put forward his statement then at least we have another thing to put Stroh in jail for."

"It isn't going to be easy..." Sharon mumbled, rubbing her head.

Emma sighed. "You think that I don't know that?"

"I know that you know that but if Stroh has escaped from police custody twice then what's to say that there isn't a third time?"

"I know." Rios sighed again. "I just want Rusty and his family to be happy and safe again."

"And they will. How do you think I feel? I can't even protect my own son."

"Hey, don't say that. Sharon you've done a lot for Rusty and you protected him as if your life depended on it. Rusty's very lucky to have you as his mother."

"Is he?"

Enma nodded. "He definitely is."


End file.
